Preview: Murdoch Mysteries, “Murdoch on the Couch”

January 9, 2022 Greg David 1 Comment

After a stellar Christmas episode, where it was revealed Julia is pregnant, Murdoch Mysteries returned last week with an interesting whodunit starring Mary Pickford and one John Brackenreid.

This week, the show welcomes more real-life historical figures in Doctors Sigmund Freud Carl Jung.

Here is the official episode synopsis for “Murdoch on the Couch,” written by Simon McNabb and Paul Aitken, and directed by Eleanore Lindo:

When Murdoch investigates the mysterious death of a colleague of Sigmund Freud, he receives unexpected psychoanalysis.

And, as always, here are some additional tidbits from me.

Guest stars galore
Sigmund Freud is played by veteran stage and screen actor Diego Matamoros, who I’ve been lucky enough to see perform many times at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre. His take on Freud is wonderfully dry, leading to many funny moments, especially when he starts to psychoanalyze members of Station House No. 4. Keep an eye out for Jeff Lillico as Jung (he first appeared on MM back in 2013 as Reginald Mayfair), and Trevor Hayes as Charlie Davidson (who also dropped by MM previously playing Frederick Fetherstonhagh in 2014).

A little bit of Julia backstory
It was revealed in a previous season that Julia and Freud knew each other. This is a nice callback that leads to some great scenes.

Watts investigates a murder
I always enjoy it when Watts is given his own crime to investigate, and this week’s is a doozy involving the aforementioned Charlie Davidson who shows up at the Station House to report a murder.

Murdoch Mysteries airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.

Images courtesy of CBC.

Coroner

Links: Coroner, Season 4

January 6, 2022 Greg David

From Heather M. of The Televixen:

Link: Adrienne Mitchell talks Coroner Season 4 + a finale preview
“I think that Adriana did an amazing job this season and it’s not easy to transition into an established drama series. She’s an incredible talent and has an incredible voice [and we had] an incredible team of writers.” Continue reading.

From Heather M. of The Televixen:

Link: Adrienne Mitchell talks about the Coroner Season 4 finale
“Serinda hooked into the style of the show and put her own stamp on it. There were some really interesting visual connections that she created that I thought were really great.” Continue reading.

From Heather M. of The Televixen:

Link: Adriana Maggs and Adrienne Mitchell preview Coroner Season 4
Thursday night, Coroner returns for its fourth season on CBC and CBC Gem with an emotional episode that finds the team at different stages of recovery following the events of the third season finale. Continue reading.

Pretty Hard Cases

Links: Pretty Hard Cases, Season 2

January 5, 2022 Greg David

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Tricia Black on the fun of causing trouble on Pretty Hard Cases
It doesn’t seem to matter how great the work that Guns and Gangs detectives Sam Wazowski (Meredith MacNeill) and Kelly Duff (Adrienne C. Moore) is, they can’t seem to get any respect from homicide detectives Tara Swallows (Tricia Black) and Dustin Chase (Miguel Rivas). Continue reading.

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Charlotte Sullivan Reunites With Old Friends to Party on Pretty Hard Cases
For fans of Pretty Hard Cases co-creators Tassie Cameron and Sherry White, it was probably of little surprise to see another one of their old Rookie Blue cast members appear in last week’s episode. Continue reading.

From Heather M. of The Televixen:

Link: Previewing Pretty Hard Cases Season 2 with Meredith MacNeill and Adrienne C. Moore
“I remember on the first day, [we had] all the excitement of starting season two and you say hi to everybody and then about an hour and a half later, you’re like, ‘Oh yeah. Oh right. We got six more months. Let’s do this.'” Continue reading.

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Pretty Hard Cases stars preview a very personal Season 2
After spending most of last season getting to know one another and each other’s work styles, Sam (Meredith MacNeill) and Kelly (Adrienne C. Moore) are now officially partners on Pretty Hard Cases. Continue reading.

From Heather M. of The Televixen:

Link: Pretty Hard Cases “Plastic Teeth” preview and Part 2 of Meredith MacNeill and Adrienne C. Moore interview
“What is the delicate balance between a mother and daughter? What is the balance between having a parent live with you … their differences when they come back into your life and how much you need each other.” Continue reading.

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Pretty Hard Cases stars discuss Kelly’s next steps
We may only be at the beginning of Season 2 of CBC’s Pretty Hard Cases, but things have quickly gotten very serious, especially for Detective Kelly Duff (Adrienne C. Moore). Continue reading.

Kim's Convenience, Run the Burbs

Links: Run the Burbs, Season 1

January 5, 2022 Greg David 1 Comment

From Eric Volmers of the Calgary Herald:

Link: Andrew Phung takes on suburbia in new CBC sitcom, Run the Burbs
There will be some Easter eggs in the new CBC sitcom Run the Burbs involving Calgary, little tributes sprinkled throughout the first season that astute viewers from the city’s northeast will recognize. Continue reading.

From Brad Wheeler of The Globe and Mail:

Link: In Kim’s Convenience star Andrew Phung’s new CBC sitcom Run the Burbs, family matters
“I don’t wake up every morning thinking I’m Vietnamese,” says Andrew Phung, co-creator and co-star of the new sitcom Run the Burbs. “I’m Vietnamese-Canadian, and this a show about a contemporary Canadian family.” Continue reading.

From Debra Yeo of the Toronto Star:

Link: Canada, ‘we’re your new family’: Andrew Phung’s ‘Run the Burbs’ picks up the baton from ‘Kim’s Convenience’
Andrew Phung is standing in the middle of the perfect metaphor for what he’s bringing to Canadian television. Continue reading.

From Marriska Fernandes of The Canadian Press:

Link: Andrew Phung on seeking authenticity for Asian family comedy ‘Run the Burbs’
Andrew Phung says he brought plenty of lessons from his hit “Kim’s Convenience” over to his new show “Run the Burbs,” which shifts the focus from a family of Korean immigrants to first-generation kids. Continue reading.

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Run the Burbs gives us a family big on love
The Pham fam has a whole lot of love to give and they want to share it with the world around them. Continue reading.

From Bill Brioux of Brioux.tv:

Link: Hey, T-Dot: Andrew Phung’s Run the Burbs speaks today’s slang
If you live in the ‘burbs you’ll recognize the family at the heart of Run the Burbs, the second new sitcom to launch this week from CBC. Continue reading.

From Charles Trapunski of Brief Take:

Link: Interview: Run the Burbs’ Andrew Phung and Rakhee Morzaria
Run the Burbs is an exciting new series from one of our faves at Brief Take, Andrew Phung (who was previously seen as Kimchee in Kim’s Convenience and can be seen upcoming in Roast Battle Canada), and is created by Phung along with his creative partner Scott Townend. Continue reading.

Coroner, Featured

Preview: Coroner returns with fresh bodies, renewed energy for Season 4

January 5, 2022 A.R. Wilson 3 Comments

Coroner may be a crime/medical procedural, but its primary focus has always been on Jenny Cooper’s (Serinda Swan) personal mental health journey as she struggles with grief, childhood trauma and anxiety. That journey takes a turn—and the series gets an infusion of energy—in Season 4, kicking off Thursday at 8 p.m. on CBC.

In “Emerge,” written by new showrunner Adriana Maggs (Pretty Hard Cases), Jenny is still reeling from the shocking loss of Liam (Eric Bruneau) in the Season 3 finale. On a sabbatical from work, she’s holed up in an Airbnb trailer on a rural farm, growing a garden and trying to take a break from all things death-related. She keeps in close contact with Ross (Ehrem Kassam), who is at home caring for Gordon (Nicholas Campbell) with the help of her recently resurfaced mom Peggy (Jennifer Dale), but is clearly in no hurry to return to the chaos of her life.

Back in Toronto, Detective McAvoy (Roger Cross) is facing the opposite situation. After taking four months off to recover from his spinal surgery, he’s back at work and eager to prove he’s up to the job, especially to his partner Malik (Andy McQueen) and girlfriend Kirima (Sarah Podemski). Meanwhile, at the coroner’s office, rulebook-thumping replacement coroner Dr. Elijah Thompson (Thom Allison) is making life difficult for Jenny’s staff, who can’t wait for her to come back.

Just as we can count on Jenny having a new hairstyle each season (spoiler: it’s longer now), we know that a new case—probably one in the quiet community she’s seeking refuge in—will soon have her conducting post-mortems again. However, things are not quite business as usual once Jenny gets her groove back; altered relationship dynamics and fresh faces bring new vitality and direction to the series.

Liam’s death upends Jenny’s healing process in unexpected ways, letting the writers and Swan dig into the confusing layers of compounded grief and survivor’s guilt, subjects TV procedurals rarely make time for. In addition, both Dale and Allison turn in great performances as they shake up Jenny’s world at home and at work; and McAvoy’s reaction to his health scare provides some early twists, adding new shades to his partnership with Malik and giving Cross more opportunities to shine. Overall, the series feels refreshed and like it has a lot more to say, which is quite an accomplishment for a fourth-year drama about death.

Coroner airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.

Image courtesy of CBC.