Tag Archives: Bletchley Circle: San Francisco

Comments and queries for the week of October 5

I didn’t think I would like [The Bletchley Circle: San Franscisco] as much as I do. I thought it would be watered down version of the original. But I’m glad to say I’m wrong. It is a great new show. Thanks, A.R.! —John

When and where will we be able to see this in the USA? Thanks. —Debbie

Hi Debbie. The Bletchley Circle is available in the U.S. via BritBox.


I have just finished the second episode of The Great Canadian Baking Show. I am a fan of the British Show which I have been watching for a couple of years now. Could you tell me what the requirements are for getting on this show and how does one go about applying to get on the show? —Barb

Thanks for contacting us. When Season 3 casting is open for Baking Show we’ll let you know.


I enjoy many of the characters on Murdoch Mysteries but the character of William Murdoch attracted me and Yannick Bisson drew me into the show. The episodes featuring others can be interesting but generally are for one-time viewing. Episodes featuring William Murdoch are more powerful, interesting and worth repeat views. —Santa

Julia’s constant changing of specialities, always having to be right and stubbornness is getting old. William is who she fell in love with, but she is constantly berating him for being who he is. Control, not love. Sick of her attitude. —Diana

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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Preview: The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco

When ITV’s The Bletchley Circle premiered in the UK in 2012, it was a clever spin on a British specialty: the period whodunit.

Instead of Sherlock or Father Brown or Detective Foyle outsmarting murderers and villains, we had four female cryptographers who used to work at Bletchley Park. Feeling bored and boxed in by their post-Second World War lives, the women dusted off their code-breaking skills to outwit a London serial killer. Along the way, they also had to outplay many of the men around them—including homicide detectives and their own husbands—who were prevented by secrecy laws from knowing what they did during the war and wanted them to simply go back to who and what they were before the bombs started falling.

Many of those qualities are still present in the new eight-episode, four-mystery spinoff series, The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco, which premieres on Friday, Sept. 14, at 8 p.m. ET on Citytv. However, a change of location and some intriguing new characters shake it up enough to make it feel fresh and worthwhile. Set in 1956, three years after the original series ended, sleuthing codebreakers Millie (Rachael Stirling) and Jean (Julie Graham) set off for the Bay Area to investigate a death that has shocking similarities to the murder of a young Bletchley Park colleague in 1942. Once there, they meet up with former American servicemembers Iris (Crystal Balint) and Hailey (Chanelle Peloso) and convince them to help track down who’s responsible for the killings.

Like the women in the original series, Iris and Hailey have struggled to find satisfaction in the post-war era. Jazz pianist and former codebreaker Iris now works in obscurity as a research assistant at Berkeley, while former weapons designer Hailey is desperate to find a new outlet for her mechanical genius. In learning about their lives, viewers also get a look at some of the social issues percolating in 1950s San Francisco. For instance, the first episode, “Presidio”— written by former Bitten executive producer Daegan Fryklind—gives viewers a taste of the historic Fillmore District, an area known both for its bustling jazz scene and for being targeted by various gentrification efforts. In an early scene, Iris’ son sets off to protest a plan to drive African Americans from the neighbourhood, and later, Iris’ former Presidio colleague laments that her Japenese American family was also driven out of the area.

Iris, in particular, breathes new life into the codebreaker conceit of the show, giving viewers a peek into the little-known history of black women in the Signal Intelligence Service. On that front, Calgary-native Balint gives a strong performance as a woman who has much to lose by going along with a couple of Brits who show up in her jazz club one night. Meanwhile, Vancouver-born Peloso is irresistibly plucky as eager go-getter Hailey. And what more can you say about Stirling and Graham? They were great in the first series and they’re great here. Graham is particularly good in a London-set scene where she learns her age and gender mitigate her smarts in the eyes of a young Foreign Service Office agent.

Speaking of London—and of San Francisco, for that matter—this series wasn’t produced in either location. It was filmed in Vancouver. However, there are enough shots of trolleys and Victorian houses to give it a convincing Northern California feel. There’s also a splash more colour and light in the production design when compared to its UK predecessor, highlighting both the change in climate and the contrasting post-war conditions of bomb-riddled London and unscathed San Fransisco.

As for the wisdom of transplanting a British show into an American setting and then shooting it in Canada, showrunner and executive producer Michael MacLennan points out that Canadians are “uniquely qualified” to act as translators of British and American sensibilities. And based on the screeners, he appears to be right. Produced by Omnifilm Entertainment in association with BritBox and World Productions, who made the original, the series retains its British pedigree while shining a light on some infrequently explored—and still painfully relevant—American stories. And it offers up some solid mysteries and compelling female camaraderie along the way.

The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on Citytv.

Images courtesy of Omnifilm

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Citytv to broadcast original Bletchley Circle: San Francisco

From a media release:

Imagine a prime-time schedule packed with more programming that stirs excitement and captures the hearts of Canadian TV lovers. Today Rogers Media unveils Citytv’s 2018/19 schedule, anchored by last season’s proven hits and strengthened by highly-anticipated buzzy new shows. Rick Brace, President of Rogers Media, Colette Watson, Senior Vice President of Television & Broadcast Operations, together with the executive team, will present Citytv’s new Fall and midseason schedules to advertisers and media this afternoon at Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall.

The new Citytv schedule boasts 11 new shows, the return of 16 fan favourites, 3 live events and specials, and underscores a renewed investment in the 10 p.m. timeslot with two nights of compelling new dramas. While Hockey Night in Canada reigns supreme on Saturday nights, viewers will discover exciting new shows every other night of the week during the 2018/19 season.

Stories with Heart:

Whether bonded by blood or by choice, the power of family and friendship runs deep through Citytv’s 2018/19 lineup, with dramas and live-event programming that explore these complicated, messy, and tender relationships with the people who – for better or worse – matter the most. Rocked by the sudden loss of one of their own, Boston friends support each other through love, loss, and life in A Million Little Things – the fall season’s most anticipated breakout hit drama. New drama Manifest explores the unsettling lives of the long-missing passengers and crew of Montego Air Flight 828 as they try to understand what happened to them – and what they’re meant to do with second chances. Parenthood is tough – and family life in the Marvel Universe is no exception when mom and dad discover their kids have mutant super powers in the new-to-Citytv family adventure The Gifted. And renegades with retro style are coming to Citytv this Fall, as the code-cracking crime-solving Bletchley women take their formidable skills stateside to tackle new mysteries in the Citytv original The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco.

THE BLETCHLEY CIRCLE: SAN FRANCISCO
60-minute scripted Citytv original drama series
Fridays at 8 p.m.
Meet the original women who code. The first Bletchley Circle series followed a group of four female codebreakers at the elite Second World War code-breaking centre Bletchley Park, who used their skills to investigate a series of complex crimes. This new season picks up three years later in 1956, as Jean and Millie depart London for San Francisco to investigate the murder of a close friend. They are joined there by North American code-breakers Iris and Hailey who, like their British counterparts, find themselves undervalued and overlooked despite their indispensable war efforts. With renewed purpose, the code-breaking-turned-crime-solving team teases out an array of mysteries in the Bay Area.

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Produced by Omnifilm Entertainment in Association with BritBox and World Productions
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Brian Hamilton, Jake Lushington, and Michael MacLennan
CAST: Crystal Balint (Prison Break), Julie Graham (Doc Martin), Chanelle Peloso (Level Up), and Rachael Stirling (Detectorists)

Citytv’s Fall Schedule
All times ET/PT; s=simulcast

Monday

  • 8 p.m. Dancing with the Stars (s)
  • 10 p.m. Manifest *NEW* (s)

Tuesday

  • 8 p.m. The Gifted *NEW to Citytv* (s)
  • 9 p.m. Lethal Weapon (s)
  • 10 p.m. Mom
  • 10:30 p.m. Mom

Wednesday

  • 8 p.m. Black-ish (post-release)
  • 8:30 p.m. Cool Kids *NEW* (pre-release)
  • 9 p.m. Modern Family (s)
  • 9:30 p.m. Single Parents *NEW* (s)
  • 10 p.m. A Million Little Things *NEW* (s)

Thursday

  • 8 p.m. Bad Blood *Citytv original*
  • 9 p.m. Mom (s)
  • 9:30 p.m. Murphy Brown *NEW* (s)
  • 10 p.m. Mom
  • 10:30 p.m. Mom

 Friday

  • 8 p.m. The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco *NEW Citytv original*
  • 9 p.m. Hell’s Kitchen (s)
  • 10 p.m. Mom
  • 10:30 p.m. Mom

Saturday

  • Hockey Night in Canada

Sunday

  • 8 p.m. The Simpsons *NEW to Citytv* (s)
  • 8:30 p.m. Bob’s Burgers (s)
  • 9 p.m. Family Guy (s)
  • 9:30 p.m. Rel *NEW* (s)
  • 10 p.m. Mom
  • 10:30 p.m. Mom

 

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