Three Pines - What We Know So Far

It's nearly time for a trip to the snowy, forested Canadian town of Three Pines, the fictional locale of the upcoming Amazon mystery series of the same name. It may be idyllic with its artists, bookstores, and little cafes, but there's something murderous brewing underneath the town's picture-perfect façade.

Originally announced in May 2020 by Deadline, "Three Pines" is an adaptation of Canadian author Louise Penny's bestselling 17-novel mystery series set in Three Pines, with the kindhearted Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as the protagonist solving the town's murders. British screenwriter Emilia di Girolamo, known for "The Tunnel" and "Law & Order: U.K.," is the head writer of the series, adapting it from Penny's book series. The series dates back to 2005 with the first entry, "Still Life." The 17th and most recent book, "The Madness of Crowds," was published in August 2021. The upcoming Amazon series comes from Left Bank Pictures, the production company behind "The Crown" for Netflix.

Here's everything else we know about the upcoming "Three Pines."

There is no release date yet for "Three Pines," but we do know that production has officially started on the series. According to Deadline, the cast and crew will be filming in Montreal and in rural areas of Québec through the end of 2021, with plans to wrap in December. So, while audiences won't be watching "Three Pines" this year, it seems likely that it will be available sometime in 2022. The series will be eight episodes long and released on Amazon Prime in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada.

"Three Pines" will be the second Canadian Amazon Original scripted series. Christina Wayne, head of Canadian Originals at Amazon Studios, said in a press release, "The series will be our first locally produced scripted drama, and we are thrilled to work with Left Bank to bring these layered characters, unique setting, and masterfully constructed mysteries that Louise created to Prime Video."

Heading up "Three Pines" is actor Alfred Molina, starring as Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, per Deadline's September update. Molina has been in an array of movies and TV shows, including "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Chocolat." However, he's perhaps best known as the villain Doc Ock in "Spider-Man 2," a role he's reprising in "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Molina is also executive producing "Three Pines." In an Amazon press release, Christina Wayne of Amazon Studios said, "Alfred Molina perfectly embodies the cerebral and compassionate nature of Gamache, and leads a tremendous cast."

Around Inspector Gamache will be a cast of characters from the fictional town of Three Pines. As a series produced in Canada (and with a story taking place in Canada), many of the actors cast on the show are Canadian. Per Deadline, the supporting cast features Rossif Sutherland, who's appeared in "Reign" and "ER" (via IMDb), and Tantoo Cardinal, an indigenous Canadian actor known for titles such as "Wind River" and "Dances with Wolves" (via IMDb). Additional cast includes Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers ("Blood Quantum"), Clare Coulter ("I, Daniel Blake"), Sarah Booth ("Deadfall"), Julian Bailey ("Dark Phoenix"), and Frédéric-Antoine Guimond.

"Three Pines" is an adaptation of the mystery book series written by Louise Penny, so the premise is fairly straightforward: There will be multiple murders on the Amazon Original series, and Inspector Gamache (Molina) will attempt to solve them. The logline, according to the Amazon release, reads: "Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec is a man who sees things that others do not: the light between the cracks, the mythic in the mundane, and the evil in the seemingly ordinary. As he investigates a spate of murders in Three Pines, a seemingly idyllic village, he discovers long-buried secrets and faces a few of his own ghosts."

Generally, Penny's murder mysteries are cozy whodunit books, rich in Canadian history and featuring an eccentric cast of characters in the small town. Think Agatha Christie, but in Québecois. They also don't contain much in the way of sex or excessive violence, so the tone of the series will likely lean even more toward Christie as opposed to more recent crime procedurals like the oft-creepy "Criminal Minds."

At this point, it's unclear if the plan is to adapt "Still Life," the first book in the series, or take another route. "Still Life" was previously adapted into the 2013 TV movie "Still Life: A Three Pines Mystery" (via IMDb). Fans of the books and mystery genre will simply have to wait for further information about the upcoming series, though likely not too long.