Lot No. 249 (film)

Last updated

Lot No. 249
Genre Drama
Supernatural horror
Written by Mark Gatiss
Directed byMark Gatiss
Starring Kit Harington
Freddie Fox
Music byBlair Mowat
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerIsibeal Ballance
CinematographyKieran McGuigan
Running time30 minutes
Production companyAdorable Media
Original release
Network BBC Two
Release24 December 2023 (2023-12-24)

Lot No. 249 is a supernatural television drama produced by the BBC based on the story "Lot No. 249" by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published in Harper's Magazine in 1892. Adapted and directed by Mark Gatiss, it stars Kit Harington and Freddie Fox and was first broadcast on 24 December 2023 on BBC Two as part of the long-running A Ghost Story for Christmas series.

Contents

Plot

An Oxford student, Abercrombie Smith, recounts to his friend that his neighbour, Edward Bellingham, is using a revived Egyptian mummy to murder his social and romantic rivals. Following this meeting, Smith returns to his college, confronts Bellingham at gunpoint about his "perversions", and forces him to destroy the mummy and the associated artefacts. However, in the closing moments it is revealed that Bellingham has a second mummy – "Lot No. 250" – which he uses to continue his killing spree.

Cast

Production

The film was produced by Adorable Media for BBC Arts, with Mark Gatiss continuing the tradition of adapting a classic ghost story for the BBC for transmission at Christmas. Gatiss's previous contributions to the series between 2013 and 2022 have included The Tractate Middoth , The Dead Room, Martin's Close, The Mezzotint and Count Magnus . [1]

Kit Harington and Freddie Fox were announced as having the lead roles in October 2023. [2] [3] Later that month the cast list was expanded by Colin Ryan, John Heffernan, James Swanton, Jonathan Rigby and Andrew Horton. [4] Filming took place in Hertfordshire in 2023. [5]

Broadcast

Its first broadcast was in the UK on BBC Two on 24 December 2023. [6]

Notes

    1. Who, it is implied, is Sherlock Holmes. [1]

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    References

    1. 1 2 Jeffery, Morgan (24 December 2023). "Mark Gatiss on surprise cameo in Lot No. 249: "I couldn't resist"". Radio Times. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
    2. Hibberd, James (19 October 2023). "Kit Harington Teaming With Mark Gatiss to Adapt 'Sherlock' Author's Ghost Story". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
    3. Whittock, Jesse; Goldbart, Max (19 October 2023). "Sherlock' Co-Creator Mark Gatiss To Adapt Arthur Conan Doyle's 'Lot No. 249' As BBC Christmas Ghost Story; Kit Harington & Freddie Fox To Star". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
    4. "Lot No. 249: BBC Announce New Ghost Story for Christmas from Mark Gatiss". TV Zone UK. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
    5. P, Maddie (24 November 2023). "Mark Gatiss' 'Lot No. 249': Everything We Know About the Arthur Conan Doyle Adaptation". Collider. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
    6. Vickers-Green, Laura (13 November 2023). "UK Christmas 2023 TV Guide: the Best Festive Specials, New Drama & Comedy Series". Den of Geek. Retrieved 14 November 2023.