Eva Longoria, David Suchet to star in BBC miniseries 'Decline and Fall'

LONDON, June 12 (UPI) -- Eva Longoria, David Suchet, Douglas Hodge and Jack Whitehall are to star in the first television adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's 1920s-set, comic novel Decline and Fall, the BBC announced Sunday.

Penned by James Wood, the three-part series is to debut later this year.

"I am extremely pleased to be a part of this amazing adaptation by James Wood. I've been a fan of this book since I read it as a teenager, and I just hope that I can do it justice," Whitehall said in a statement.

Shane Allen, controller of BBC Comedy Commissioning, added: "One of the greatest comic novels of all time, this satirical masterpiece is long overdue a television debut. Waugh deploys comedy and tragedy to point up prevailing institutional corruption and the dehumanizing consequences of elitism, very timely and apposite for today. James has done a terrific job of getting to the core of it, and the writing has attracted a fantastic cast."

The production will mark 50 years since Waugh's death.