The BBC has acquired the original Anthony Horowitz mystery thriller Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue.

It is produced by Eleventh Hour Films, a Sony Pictures Television-backed company, for MGM+ in the US and distributed by SPT.

In the six-part series, a plane carrying a small group of passengers, crew and pilot, crashes in the Mexican jungle. All the bodies are recovered and placed in a morgue…but it turns out that only one of them died in the crash. The other passengers were murdered afterwards, each one in a unique way. But by whom? And why? As the story unfolds in flashback, we meet the survivors as they fight against the heat, a shortage of supplies, the many dangers of the jungle…and each other. The setting becomes increasingly tense and claustrophobic as, one by one, they are dispatched with a series of shocks that bring us ever closer to the truth and – at the very end – a jaw-dropping reveal.

The ensemble cast includes Eric McCormack (Will & Grace, Perception), David Ajala (Star Trek: Discovery) as Zack; Lydia Wilson (The Swarm) as Sonja; Peter Gadiot (Yellowjackets) as Carlos; Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls) as Lisa; Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (The Tourist) as Travis; Adam Long (Happy Valley) as Dan, and Jan Le (The Capture) as Amy. Filming recently started in the Canary Islands.

Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition, says: “Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue is an ingenious, original and suspenseful murder mystery multiplied by nine! It is absolutely guaranteed to keep viewers riveted to their screens until the very end.”

Jill Green, CEO, Eleventh Hour Films, says: “Our story has a universality which makes it perfect for the BBC . We are thrilled to have assembled a global cast that will bring total authenticity to this original drama.”

Michael Wright, Head of MGM+, says: “Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue is a clever and wildly entertaining addition to MGM+’s growing slate of cinematic, edge-of-your-seat thrillers. Anthony Horowitz has spun a masterfully inventive web of deception and intrigue that keeps audiences guessing until the very last axe falls.”

Nine Bodies In a Mexican Morgue (6 x 45) is an original mystery series, written, created and executive produced by Anthony Horowitz CBE (Alex Rider, Magpie Murders) and produced by Eleventh Hour Films, a Sony Pictures Television (“SPT”) backed company. Jill Green and Eve Gutierrez are the executive producers for Eleventh Hour Films. SPT will distribute the series worldwide.

Richard Burrell (Alex Rider) serves as series producer. Eps 1-3 are directed by Brian O’Malley (The Ex Wife) and Eps 4-6 by Viviane Andereggen (Kleo).