A television Christmas present for the residents of Three Pines, that is the fictional town of Louise Penny’s novels loosely based on Knowlton, with a dash of Sutton thrown in for good measure. Louise Penny says in fact Three Pines is a totally fictional Eastern Townships village. Judging by the busloads of tourists from Canada and the cars from the United States who make a Three Pine pilgrimage to Knowlton, readers have made their choice.

Three Pines is the name of the series, starting on December 2, on Amazon Prime Video. It was shot in the town of St. Armand and stars Alfred Molina as Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, the detective who is the main character of every novel. Other actors include Rossif Sutherland, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Tantoo Cardinal, Clare Coulter, Sarah Booth, and Anna Tierney.

The show is the gift that keeps on giving for Louise Penny fans: the December 2 program is the first of eight episodes in the series. There are two episodes covering material from four novels. Ms. Penny says she thought about the idea of television series for a long time. “A TV series isn’t a book,” she told us. Overall, she is happy with the result. There is a real possibility that there could be a second Three Pines series. That depends on ratings. It is television after all. But the Christmas gift for us is to see our corner of paradise on television screens around the world.