From a media release:
Thursday’s Secret Weapon: CTV’s Original Undercover Cop Drama PLAYED Premieres Oct. 3
Money. Guns. Cars. Drugs. Thursday night gets a dose of suspense this fall with the premiere of CTV’s compelling new original undercover cop drama PLAYED. Launching with CTV’s biggest promotional investment of any other network priority this fall, PLAYED joins CTV’s blockbuster Thursday night line-up at 10 p.m. ET/PT beginning Oct. 3 (visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times). And with a goal of driving awareness of the new series ahead of its debut, CTV announced today it will sample the emotion and tension-filled premiere with a one-week sneak peek, exclusively at CTV.ca, on the CTV App, and the CTV Mobile Channel on Bell Mobile TV, beginning Thursday, Sept. 27 at 9 a.m. ET.
PLAYED follows the Covert Investigations Unit (C.I.U.), an elite, Toronto-based undercover police unit formed to infiltrate criminal worlds. In nerve-wracking confidence games or “plays,†these smooth-talking cops flirt with killers, befriend gang members, and arrange gun shipments – all to collect evidence, coax confessions, and make arrests.
In PLAYED, the C.I.U. team faces the risks of going undercover to infiltrate, and bring down, criminal organizations. With the new style of short-term, high-intensity undercover work, each covert “play†is crafted quickly and executed at an even faster pace. Placed into various worlds of crime without a safety net, the cops are in constant danger. Wearing wires, coaxing confessions, and setting up stings, the cops of the C.I.U. must think quickly, talk smoothly, and rely on pure instinct. If these cops aren’t convincing, if they aren’t real, if they miss one cue – their lives are over in an instant. They slip in and out of characters so often, they sometimes lose track of who they really are. The bonds within the team are close, and the conflicts are intense. The team is everything.
The talented and instinct-driven Detective John Moreland (Gemini Award-nominee Vincent Walsh, DECEPTION, LOST GIRL) is used to being in charge, but when consummate strategist Rebecca Ellis (Chandra West, NYPD BLUE, JOHN FROM CINCINNATI) is suddenly given the reigns, conflict ensues. Balancing her keen intellect against his from-the-hip instincts, Rebecca and John need each other to pull off their risky plays – and they know it.
In the heart-pounding premiere, entitled “Drugs†(Thursday, Oct. 3 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, and in a digital preview beginning Thursday, Sept. 27 at 9 a.m. ET across CTV digital platforms), undercover detective John Moreland (Walsh) faces suspension after assaulting a Drug Squad officer. He gets a second chance when Detective Sergeant Rebecca Ellis (West) recruits Moreland and his team into her newly formed Covert Investigations Unit. The C.I.U.’s first case is to take down David Thorpe (Serge Houde, 50/50), an elusive drug kingpin Moreland has been hunting for years. Rebecca’s leadership and her fragile relationship with Moreland are severely tested when Thorpe suspects that Moreland is a cop.
Set and shot in Toronto, the high-risk drama also stars Lisa Marcos (THE LISTENER, FLASHPOINT) as Maria Cortez, a cop who has an exceptional ability to read a mark and transform herself to adapt to any situation; Dwain Murphy (COMBAT HOSPITAL, NIKITA) as Daniel Price, whose confidence and magnetic warmth easily dispels suspicion; Agam Darshi (SANCTUARY, RING OF FIRE) as Khali Bhatt, whose effortless skill with technology is a real asset for the team; and Adam Butcher (REPUBLIC OF DOYLE, BOMB GIRLS) as Jesse Calvert, the undercover unit’s explosive rookie.
PLAYED is produced by Muse Entertainment Enterprises and Back Alley Film Productions Ltd. in association with Bell Media. The series was created by Greg Nelson (SAVING HOPE, ROOKIE BLUE), and developed in association with executive producers Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell (DURHAM COUNTY, BOMB GIRLS). Greg Nelson serves as executive producer and is co-showrunner with Adrienne Mitchell who also directed the pilot episode. Other episode directors include: Charles Binamé (CYBERBULLY), Kelly Makin (FLASHPOINT), Bradley Walsh (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST), Andy Mikita (BITTEN), Rachel Talalay (BOMB GIRLS), and Jerry Ciccoritti (LIVES OF SAINTS). The director of photography is Thom Best (THE BRIDGE), and the production designer is Aidan Leroux (BOMB GIRLS).
