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Preview: Frankie Drake Mysteries closes out Season 1

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On Monday, Frankie Drake Mysteries rides into the sunset with its first season finale. And what a ride it’s been. It has been a personal pleasure to see all of the hard work co-creators Michelle Ricci and Carol Hay and showrunner Cal Coons pay off big-time. Launching a television series is difficult enough, but placing it in the timeslot after Murdoch Mysteries—a program it will always be compared to—is not easy.

It’s only been an 11-episode season, but a wonderful world has been established, full of engaging characters in Flo, Mary, Trudy, Wendy and, of course, Frankie Drake herself. CBC hasn’t made it official yet, but I’m pretty sure Frankie and her pals will be back for the second round of crime-solving in the fall of 2018.

As for Monday’s finale, the CBC has released the following information for “Once Burnt Twice Spied.”

When Frankie gets a mysterious call from a British spy, Mary discovers how she and Trudy met, and how Drake Private Detectives was formed.

And here are more details after watching a screener of the episode, written by Michelle Ricci and directed by Peter Stebbings.

Origin stories
Rather than reveal how Drake Private Detectives came to be in Episode 1, we’re getting it in the season finale. An odd move, but with a great payoff. It’s meant fans have fallen in love with the characters already and the mystery as to how it all came to be could be saved. Viewers are flashed back in time—you know, before 1920—to tell the tale. For Frankie, that means a return to Toronto for a very special assignment; for Trudy, a change in career.

Pay attention to the props
In particular, a newspaper that is being read by many and frustratingly hard to decipher.

Forget 007
Frankie Drake predates James Bond when it comes to cool gadgets and weaponry.

Slasher stars, Take 3
Those actors from Slasher clearly can’t get enough of Frankie Drake Mysteries because, for the third week in a row, one appears. This time it’s Christopher Jacot as Clive Harper, a Toronto baker.

What are your thoughts on Season 1 of Frankie Drake Mysteries? Let me know in the comments below.

The season finale of Frankie Drake Mysteries airs Monday at 9 p.m. on CBC.

 

 

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Featured, Frankie Drake Mysteries

Preview: Frankie Drake Mysteries explores Russian royalty

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Last week, Frankie Drake Mysteries fans got an in-depth peek into Frankie’s life before she was a private detective. “Ghosts” delved into her service in the First World War and the effect it has had on her. It was the darkest episode of Frankie Drake yet, and I really enjoyed it.

This week’s new episode, “Anastasia,” features some new faces as well as a couple of returning ones. Here’s the official word from CBC:

Frankie is hired to confirm the identity of a young woman claiming to be a Russian princess and protect her from those who want her dead.

And, as always, a few notes from me after watching a screener of the instalment written by Michelle Ricci and directed by Cal Coons.

A Dark Matter co-star drops by
We’re still smarting over Dark Matter‘s cancellation, but it is nice to see Jodelle Ferland (a.k.a. Five) stop by 1920s Toronto to portray Anna, a young woman with a very important past. Anna’s lineage has made her famous, and a target. Frankie Drake‘s writing room has taken a key piece from Russia’s past, questioned it, and expertly weaved it into the main storyline. It was a lot of fun to do some Googling after the episode concluded.

Another Slasher: Guilty Party co-star checks in
Last week, Slasher: Guilty Party‘s Jim Watson appeared as Frankie’s war veteran friend; this week fellow Slasher co-star Sebastian Pigott guests as Sasha, a Cossack tasked with protecting Anna from harm.

Ernest Hemingway in the house!
Yup, Steve Lund reprises his role as the not-yet-famous author, trading bon mots with Frankie and generally getting under each other’s skin. Speaking of Steve Lund, we’re pretty sure the place Anna is staying was once known as Stonehaven on Lund’s last TV series, Bitten.

Fall in Ontario
My favourite season of the year looks fantastic on-screen and offers bursts of colour to complement the show’s beautiful wardrobe.

Frankie Drake Mysteries airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

 

 

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Featured, Frankie Drake Mysteries

Preview: Frankie Drake Mysteries dips into Frankie’s past

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In last week’s preview for “The Pilot” episode of Frankie Drake Mysteries, I bemoaned the fact a key storyline regarding Frankie’s past seemed to have been skipped over; namely her past working in Canada’s Signal Corps during the First World War. I assumed that storyline would never be examined. I was, of course, wrong. And for once, I’m happy I was incorrect.

In this Monday’s new episode “Ghosts”—written by Ian Carpenter and directed by Peter “James Pendrick” Stebbings—we dig deep into Frankie’s time in the Signal Corps and how it affected her. Here’s the official synopsis via CBC:

The horrors of war haunt Frankie when an investigation into a soldier’s murder reunites her with a friend left traumatized by his tour of duty.

And here are more details we noted from watching a screener.

Frankie Drake Mysteries gets serious
Not that solving crimes isn’t already a serious enough topic, but the show goes in a bold direction in “Ghosts” by addressing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or what was back then referred to as shell shock. The episode jumps right into the main story with nary a scene with Trudy, Mary or Flo and a pretty big bang. The episode also delves into the physical scars suffered by First World War soldiers in an unflinching way. This is easily the most gritty Frankie Drake episode yet, especially when Frankie runs into an old friend.

Gia Sandhu guest-stars
Gia Sandhu, most recently seen on CTV’s The Indian Detective and CBC’s Kim’s Convenience, checks in as a wife concerned with the way her war veteran husband is acting. What is he hiding? Frankie is hired to find out.

Veteran actor Geordie Johnson appears
Geordie Johnson is a “that guy” of film and television, starring in projects like The English Patient, Street Legal, Traders, Durham County, Copper and Murdoch Mysteries, is General Chanston, who meets with the veteran’s wife.

Use Google
There are two English locations and one Canadian military force that you’ll want to look up after watching this episode. The story behind their significance to the First World War is stunning.

Frankie Drake Mysteries airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

 

 

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Frankie Drake Mysteries

Link: Frankie Drake Mysteries’ Sharron Matthews on why Flo was “meant to be”

From Kelly Townsend of The TV Junkies:

Link: Frankie Drake Mysteries’ Sharron Matthews on why Flo was “meant to be”
“Some characters you read and you go, ‘I can play that.’ Then there are some characters you read and say, ‘Oh, that’s me,’ I literally put my suitcase in the middle of the smallest hotel room in the world, I put a toaster container on top of it, I leaned my iPhone on it, and did a self-tape.” Continue reading.

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Preview: Frankie Drake Mysteries flies high with Lucas Bryant and Laurence Fox

This week on Frankie Drake Mysteries are two truly high-profile guest stars. I’ve been excited for this episode ever since I saw a short video of Lucas Bryant and Laurence Fox fooling around in the Drake makeup trailer where they were on location.

“The Pilot,” written by co-creators Michelle Ricci and Carol Hay and directed by Leslie Hope, finds Bryant playing Phillip Anderson, an aviator whose son is kidnapped. I’ve been a fan of Bryant since Season 1 of Haven (serious Stephen King fan over here) and was furthered in CBC’s excellent miniseries Shoot the Messenger, which bows on WGN in the U.S. on Feb. 26. As for Fox, he’s been on my radar for over 40 episodes of the PBS series Inspector Lewis, where he played DS James Hathaway. Anyway, enough of me being a fanboy; here’s what the CBC has revealed as the synopsis for Monday’s episode:

A day off turns into a day at the office for Frankie and Trudy when the son of an aviator is kidnapped.

And here is more information I gleaned from watching a screener.

Airplanes aplenty
I love airplanes. I love history. I was, therefore, giddy to see “The Pilot” involved both as stunning old aircraft zipped around the sky in Guelph, Ont. for the episode. (Read Bill Brioux’s set visit piece for more details.) Interestingly, this was the first episode of Frankie Drake Mysteries to be filmed but airs as Episode 7. Ah, the magic of television. And meetings.

Charlotte Sullivan guest-stars
Hold onto your hats Rookie Blue and Mary Kills People fans! Charlotte Sullivan, who also appears in CBC’s Caught next month, is Meara, wife of Phillip Anderson and mother to Charlie, the missing child.

Cheeky Fox
When we first meet Laurence Fox, he’s an unnamed gent who sidles up to Frankie and begins some major flirting. Who is he, and why does he seem to have bad will towards Phillip Anderson? They have a history, but what is it? Like I’ve already said, this was the first episode of Frankie to be filmed, but it doesn’t feel like it. Frankie’s sass, strong character and love of motorcycles and planes are firmly in place, as well as her relationship with Trudy. As a matter of fact, we learn some key backstory about Frankie thanks to her motorcycle and the conversation she has about it.

A storyline never revisited
Kris Holden-Ried appears at the end of Monday’s episode as a someone Frankie turns to for support. What’s interesting is that it’s tied to the backstory we’ve already mentioned but is never referred to, so far at least, in Season 1. Again, this was the first episode of Frankie Drake Mysteries so things change, but it would have been interesting to see this storyline fleshed out more.

A very special guest star
On top of the folks we’ve already mentioned, a certain someone drops by to escort Frankie into a building where women aren’t allowed. I kind of wish their name had been left out of the credits because it’s a major spoiler. I’ve already said too much.

Frankie Drake Mysteries airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

 

 

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