Tag Archives: Murdoch Mysteries

Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

CBC sets fall 2024 streaming and broadcast premiere dates for new and returning original series on CBC Gem and CBC TV

From a media release:

CBC today announced streaming and broadcast premiere dates for its fall 2024 slate of new and returning programming on CBC Gem and CBC TV, including more than 20 original series and specials from Canadian creators, producers, and storytellers reflecting people, places and perspectives from across the country. The first episode of all series will be available to stream on CBC Gem starting at 9 a.m. ET on their premiere dates noted below with a new episode available weekly at the same time, unless otherwise specified. CBC TV local broadcast times are noted in parentheses (for Newfoundland and Labrador, please add half an hour to all times).

New Canadian Original Series

  • PAID IN FULL: THE BATTLE FOR BLACK MUSIC *New Documentary Series* (3×60) – All episodes available Saturday, September 21 on CBC Gem (Premieres on CBC TV on Wednesday, October 23 at 8 p.m.)

Narrated by Canadian music icon Jully Black, PAID IN FULL: THE BATTLE FOR BLACK MUSIC  explores the systemic racism faced by Black artists in the music industry from its inception to the digital streaming age, and the artists’ ongoing fight for fair pay and racial justice. 

  • THE KNOWING *New Documentary Series* (4×60) – Premieres Wednesday, September 25 (8 p.m.)

In this TIFF 2024 Primetime selection, journalist, filmmaker, and award-winning Anishnaabe author Tanya Talaga goes on a quest for the truth of what happened to the women in her maternal family, revealing a story intertwined with Canada’s Indian Residential School system.

Returning Series

  • CORONATION STREET – ongoing (weekdays at 7 p.m.; Fridays at 7:30 p.m.)
  • YOU CAN’T ASK THAT *Season 3* (8×30) – All episodes available Friday, September 13 on CBC Gem (Premieres on CBC TV on Wednesday, September 18 at 11:30 p.m.)
  • THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES *Season 32* (24×30 + 1×60) – Premieres Tuesday, September 17 (8 p.m.), with a one-hour U.S. election special on Monday, November 4 at 8 p.m. 
  • THE PASSIONATE EYE (8×60 + 1×120) – Premieres Wednesday, September 18 (8 p.m., 9 p.m. beginning September 25)
    THE PASSIONATE EYE returns with a new season of thought-provoking original documentaries, beginning with 2024 Hot Docs Audience Award winner Yintah, following the Wet’suwet’en nation’s fight for sovereignty over the course of more than a decade, as they protect their ancestral lands from some of the largest fossil fuel companies on earth.
  • THE NEW WAVE OF STANDUP *Seasons 4 and 5* (8×30) – Premieres Tuesday, September 24 at 9:30 p.m. on CBC TV (Season 4 available to stream now and Season 5 premieres Friday, September 6 on CBC Gem)
  • DRAGONS’ DEN *Season 19* (12×60) – Premieres Thursday, September 26 (8 p.m.)
    Season 19 sees 1-800-GOT-JUNK? founder and CEO Brian Scudamore enter the Den, and actor, producer, author and ambassador Simu Liu joins as a celebrity guest Dragon for four episodes. 
  • HEARTLAND *Season 18* (10×60) – Premieres Sunday, September 29 on CBC Gem (Sunday, October 6 at 7 p.m. on CBC TV)
  • THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW *Season 8* (8×60) – Premieres Sunday, October 6 (8 p.m.)
  • MURDOCH MYSTERIES *Season 18* (22×60) – Premieres Monday, September 30 on CBC Gem (Monday, October 7 at 8 p.m. on CBC TV)
    Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Kim’s Convenience, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Mandalorian) joins the cast of MURDOCH MYSTERIES as Inspector Albert Choi for Season 18, which will also celebrate the series’ 300th episode. 
  • PLAN B *Season 2* (6×60) – Premieres Monday, October 7 at 9 p.m. on CBC TV (streaming now on CBC Gem)
  • STILL STANDING *Season 10* (8×30) – Premieres Tuesday, October 8 (8:30 p.m.) 
    Host Jonny Harris embarks on more adventures in small towns across the country, from Prince Rupert, BC, to New Glasgow, NS, and everywhere in between.

CBC News 

  • ABOUT THAT WITH ANDREW CHANG (15×30) – Premieres Friday, September 20 at 8:30 p.m. on CBC TV (Available to stream weekday mornings on CBC Gem and CBC News Explore)
  • MARKETPLACE *Season 52* (14×30) – Premieres Friday, October 11 (8 p.m.) 
    This season, CBC News’ consumer affairs program joins forces with some of the world’s top scambusters, cracks into the networks of organized criminal groups, confronts the fraudsters in real time, and exposes how AI is making it harder to defend ourselves. 
  • THE FIFTH ESTATE *Season 50* (14×60) – Premieres Friday, October 11 (9 p.m.)
    CBC News’ flagship investigative series celebrates its 50th anniversary with a special project to address the troubling decline in local journalism across Canada.
  • THE NATIONAL – ongoing (live at 10 p.m. weekdays and Sundays on CBC TV and CBC Gem) 
    CBC’s flagship national newscast with Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault (Monday – Thursday) and Ian Hanomansing (Friday and Sunday) offers ongoing and in-depth coverage of the upcoming U.S. election this fall.
  • CBC MORNING LIVE WITH HEATHER HISCOX (Weekday mornings on CBC TV and CBC News Network)
  • CANADA TONIGHT WITH TRAVIS DHANRAJ (Weeknights on CBC News Network)
  • POWER & POLITICS WITH DAVID COCHRANE (Weeknights on CBC News Network)
  • ROSEMARY BARTON LIVE (Sundays on CBC TV and CBC News Network)

CBC Sports 

  • CBC SPORTS PRESENTS – ongoing (live on Saturday and Sunday afternoons on CBC TV and CBC Gem)
    Following Team Canada’s success at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and with the Paralympic Games underway beginning August 28, CBC SPORTS will continue to follow high-performance athletes this fall including World Volleyball Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 Finals (Dec. 5-8 in Doha, Qatar) and World Aquatics Swimming Championship (Dec. 10-15 in Budapest, Hungary). The winter season kicks off with ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup (Oct. 25-27 in Montreal, Que.) and FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup (Dec. 7-8 in Tremblant, Que.), and the USports Championships (Oct. 19 – Nov. 16), including the Vanier Cup (Nov. 23 in Kingston, Ont.), return to showcase Canada’s top university and college athletes. CBC SPORTS will also once again offer coverage of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event series including Skate Canada (Oct. 25 – 27, Halifax, NS). 

CBC Kids Originals

  • GO TOGO *New Series* (27×5) – All episodes available to stream on CBC Gem, and premieres on CBC TV, Monday, September 2 (airs Monday through Friday)
    Produced using real animatronic characters and handmade sets, the new CBC Kids preschool series follows Togo the subway car and his friends Stella the streetcar and Wheeler the bus, as they make stops, pick up passengers, and explore the big city of Transitville. The series will introduce three to five year-olds to early math concepts through the fun and excitement of big public transit vehicles (in miniature scale). 
  • JEREMY & JAZZY *Season 2* (28×2) – First 10 episodes available Monday, September 2 on CBC Gem (Premieres Monday, September 9 on CBC TV, airs Monday through Friday)
    The JUNO and Canadian Screen Award-nominated animated preschool series, about how music and friendship create joy, returns for a new season, with season premiere episode “Hopscotch” featuring Barenaked Ladies. 
  • PLAYING WITH STU *New Series* (40×1) – All episodes available Monday, September 2 on CBC Gem (Premieres Monday, September 9 on CBC TV, airs Monday through Friday)
    A spinoff of JEREMY & JAZZY, join Stu the mouse and his friends as they have fun trying new things, making mistakes, and exploring the world around them.
  • BESTEST DAY EVER WITH MY BEST FRIEND *Season 2* (7×21) – All episodes available Friday, November 22 on CBC Gem (Premieres Sunday, November 24 on CBC TV)
    Host Lisette returns with more adorable animals and more surprises in this live-action preschool series that celebrates the bond between kids and their pets. 

Image courtesy of CBC.

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Featured, Kim's Convenience, Murdoch Mysteries

Award-winning Canadian actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee joins the cast of Murdoch Mysteries

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From a media release:

Shaftesbury and CBC announced today that award-winning, Canadian actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Kim’s Convenience, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Mandalorian) will join the cast of the CBC original hit series MURDOCH MYSTERIES as the series commences production on its 18th season in Toronto. Lee enters the “Murdoch-verse” as Inspector Albert Choi, who brings a whole new perspective to Station House #4. Best known for his portrayal as Appa on Kim’s Convenience, as well as Uncle Iroh on Netflix’s live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender, this new role marks Lee’s first foray into the world of period drama. 

CBC’s most-watched show and Canada’s top-rated long-running drama, MURDOCH MYSTERIES is set in Toronto in the early 1900s during the age of invention, where Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) enlists innovative forensic techniques to solve some of the city’s most perplexing murders. Notable guest stars on the series have included William Shatner, Margaret Atwood, Geddy Lee, Chris Hadfield, Ed Asner and Nick Nurse, adding star-studded intrigue to its compelling tales. The 18th season, consisting of 22 episodes and celebrating the series’ 300th episode, will broadcast on CBC and CBC Gem in Canada this fall, Acorn TV and Ovation TV in the U.S. and on Alibi in the UK.

Ahead of the Season 18 premiere of MURDOCH MYSTERIES this fall, a special ‘Beginner’s Guide to Murdoch Mysteries’ collection is now available to stream for free on CBC Gem. The 10 iconic episodes are the perfect Murdoch primer pulled from across the series and highlight the show’s trademark mystery, murder and Detective Murdoch’s unflappable resolve. 

“We are delighted that Paul has joined us in the world of Murdoch,” says Executive Producer Peter Mitchell. “Paul brings a wealth of experience to his role as Inspector Albert Choi and we think the fans will really enjoy seeing him on the team at Station House 4.”

Season 18 is full of ‘Murdochian’ delights: a murder at a Charles Dickens convention; Murdoch acting as a bodyguard for a silent film star (Siobhan Murphy) and thrown into a cinematic adventure himself; foiling a theft of the world’s largest ruby; proving the veracity of a ‘Missing Link’ skull found in Milton, Ontario; and a holiday episode celebrating the ‘misfits’ and singletons.  Episodes that root mysteries in the social issues of the time are also explored: a worker’s strike at a factory; an early instance of low-income housing; competing public hydro projects; and immigrants trying to purchase land in the ‘paradise’ of the wilds of Canada. 

MURDOCH MYSTERIES was born out Maureen Jennings’ 1997 novel Except the Dying. Key characters in Murdoch’s world include Chief Constable Thomas Brackenreid (Thomas Craig), Constables George Crabtree (Jonny Harris) and Henry Higgins (Lachlan Murdoch), Detective Llewellyn Watts (Daniel Maslany), Chief Coroner Violet Hart (Shanice Banton), Margaret Brackenreid (Arwen Humphreys) and Effie Newsome-Crabtree (Clare McConnell) as Canada’s first female Crown Attorney. In addition, the milestone 300th episode will see Detective Murdoch visit the UK to see his wife, Dr. Julia Ogden (Hélène Joy), as they celebrate their wedding anniversary. This season will also introduce several fresh, new faces, as well as combining the history, humour, romance, and adventure that makes MURDOCH MYSTERIES so popular and unique for viewers around the world. 

MURDOCH MYSTERIES is developed and produced by Shaftesbury, in association with CBC, ITV Studios, and UKTV, and with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, the IPF’s COGECO Television Production Fund, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and Ontario Creates. Shaftesbury Sales Company and ITV Studios hold worldwide distribution rights for the series. 

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Murdoch Mysteries, Run the Burbs

Link: Sharron Matthews Talks Murdoch Mysteries and Run the Burbs

From Heather M. of The Televixen:

Link: Sharron Matthews talks Murdoch Mysteries and Run the Burbs
“I did about three, four days of rehearsal with [choreographer] Tim French. He and I have done a version of Footloose together. I’ve seen him as an actor. I’ve seen him as a choreographer and as a director. Laurie Lynd was the director. It’s always something really amazing about coming back to set and having a shorthand already with someone. And I know how to dance. I know how to sing and I know how to very quickly change things up.” Continue reading.

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Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Preview: Murdoch Mysteries offers up pitch-perfect musical episode

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“After 20 years, 17 seasons and 290 episodes, Murdoch Mysteries has finally done it… A musical episode!”

So said the email sent by CBC earlier this week, trumpeting the show’s musical interlude coming up on March 25. Murdoch Mysteries is certainly not the first TV series to do it; the popularity of the musical episode is largely attributed to Buffy the Vampire Slayer instalment, “Once More, With Feeling,” on November 6, 2001. Since then, many shows have done them, with mixed results. Grey’s Anatomy, Supernatural, Fringe, Ally McBeal, The Flash, Scrubs and fellow CBC hit Schitt’s Creek have all dipped into the trope.

Now it’s Murdoch Mysteries‘ turn with “Why Is Everybody Singing?” Written by Paul Aitken and directed by Laurie Lynd, here is the synopsis for the March 25 episode:

While pursuing a missing man now presumed dead, Murdoch takes a call that alters his perception of the world. After heading into a lively alley, he’s shot in the head and left for dead. Crabtree and Higgins find him with the faintest pulse clinging to life. As Brackenreid, Ogden, Watts and Hart rush to the scene and the constables question a newsboy, beggar, vendors and other witnesses, Murdoch hears their inquiries in song. The musical accounts swoop and soar, confounding the detective who can’t understand why everyone around him is singing instead of focusing on who shot him.

According to writer and executive producer Aitken, the seed for a musical mystery was planted by Buffy and has been gestating ever since.

“The challenge was to do it as a genuine mystery,” Aitken says in media materials provided by CBC. “The essential concept: A comatose Murdoch needs to determine who tried to kill him was strong and allowed for all manner of philosophical hijinks, but it was insufficient. The music itself needed to be a clue. Having the singing be his injured brain’s way of processing what was actually being said over his bed solved two problems. It made the music an integral feature of the plot and allowed for the introduction of new information—always handy when telling a mystery.”

The fun begins right out of the gate, with the Murdoch Mysteries theme with a phalanx of voices performing Robert Carli’s unmistakable composition set against a movie screen in a vintage theatre. Then it’s on the case that puts Murdoch into the dire straits he finds himself in: that of a missing man. I should say that eagle-eyed viewers will catch a familiar name in the opening credits that ruins a surprise later in the story, but that’s a minor quibble.

It doesn’t take long for the singing to start—prefaced by a vibrant soundtrack—and director Lynd’s wonderful work lights up the streets of Toronto.

“The script that Paul Aitken wrote is so clever because it is still at heart a classic Murdoch episode, a puzzling case to be solved that is not at all what it first appears to be,” Lynd says. “The great joy of the episode, of course, is seeing—and hearing!—our favourite Murdoch characters sing. All of the cast did their own singing, beautifully elevating the emotions of what their characters were expressing.

It certainly is fun to hear the main cast belting out lyrics by Aitken (Higgins’ and Margaret’s in particular, are hilarious) and produced and arranged by Jono Grant. Highlighted by guest cast in Sharron Matthews (Frankie Drake Mysteries), Hélène Joy, Arwen Humphreys and Thomas Craig, the performances make sense and add a unique way of storytelling.

But, at its heart is the mystery, which is always going to be the core of the veteran drama that shows no signs of slowing down.

“Preserving the integrity of the show has always been super important to me, so when there was talk of doing a musical episode, it was no secret that I had reservations,” Bisson says. “Having Paul Aitken, our writer, as an ally for so many years and having been in the musical trenches before with Laurie as a director, I felt confident to proceed. All my worrying was for nothing though—the end result is nothing short of spectacular!”

We agree.

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

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Children's Programming, Featured, Macy Murdoch

CBC Gem’s Macy Murdoch is worthy of the Murdoch moniker

Murdoch Mysteries is a worldwide brand. With it comes expectations, so a spinoff associated with it leads to extra scrutiny. Thankfully, Macy Murdoch not only meets but exceeds those expectations.

Available now on CBC Gem, the Murdoch spinoff web series Macy Murdoch stars Canadian Screen Award winner Shailyn Pierre-Dixon as Macy, the great-great-great granddaughter of Detective William Murdoch. Set in the present day, Macy and her pals Zane (Beau Han Bridge) and Billie (Raffa Virago) travel back in time after a villain uses a time machine to frame William for murder, the trio goes back to 1910 to find the real perpetrator of the crime. Along for the ride in 1910 are Murdoch Mysteries‘ Constable Henry Higgins-Newsome (Lachlan Murdoch) and Mrs. Violet Hart (Shanice Banton), who help the kids with the case.

Initially developed by JP Larocque and Jessica Meya, we spoke with executive producer/showrunner Jennifer Kassabian (Frankie Drake Mysteries, Carter) and co-executive producer Robina Lord-Stafford (Frankie Drake Mysteries, Moonshine) about the project.

Jennifer, can you tell me how Macy Murdoch came to you?
Jennifer Kassabian: JP and Jess developed it with Shaftsbury before my time. I finished working with Jennifer McCann, who’s one of the series executive producers on Ruby and the Well. Around July, she reached out to me to say that Jess and JP were moving on to other opportunities and would I be interested in this project that she had because we had worked so well together. I said, ‘Well, let me just read everything,’ because I didn’t know if I wanted to keep my foot in the kids’ world, but then the bible that Jess and JP created blew me off my feet. I’ve never read a bible that good. It was so rich, and it was so interesting. I said yes, I’m in. I want to run the show. We didn’t have the money for a writers’ room. It was freelance scripts that were half assigned and half to be assigned, but I could have a No. 1, someone to help me shepherd the show through. 

Robina was the only name on my mind from the time we met on Frankie Drake. Sometimes those relationships on a show make you friends off a show. We were friends in real life, I already had a shorthand with her and I said, ‘Would you come on as the No. 2, and will we do this together?  

Obviously, anything with the word Murdoch in it is going to come with extra scrutiny. Robina, any nervousness on your part about it having the Murdoch name and William Murdoch involved in it? 
Robina Lord-Stafford: I didn’t really have enough time to think about it. I was on Pretty Hard Cases and Jen was like, ‘You’ve got to come and do the show with me.’ And I was like, ‘OK, I’ll do it.’ Once I was in it, it was like, ‘OK, we really have to make sure we’re doing the Murdoch world justice. We were lucky enough to get two characters from the world, so that was super exciting. Getting to shoot on the Murdoch lot was super exciting and that all kept elevating the production value of the show. We did consult with Murdoch writers to make sure that when we were going back into 1910 and creating a world for our characters to be in, that seemed authentic and real. We also binged a ton of Murdoch because we wanted to make sure that Henry Higgins-Newsome and Violet Hart’s voices were really authentic to what the Murdoch world has created already. 

Robina, when it came to the writers’ room, is it different to write for the web as opposed to an episode of broadcast television? Does each web episode represent story beats in a larger project?
RLS: Great question. We did have all those beats already. When Jen and I got onto the project, there were already, I think, two scripts written by previous writers. And so it was like, ‘OK, let’s continue this on,’ and then we had another writer that joined us. One of the things that we did maybe a little bit differently than what I’m used to doing in one hour is that we knew what the beginning, middle, and end of the whole series was going to be. We could then break it down into different episodes on how we were going to then achieve all of that to make sure that we were getting all the juice that we needed and the great cliffhangers at the end of each episode. 

You really pack a lot into each 11-or-so-minute episode.
JK: I think there is a misconception that when you hear 11 minutes it’s easy peasy and not that much content. You can get the story in when it was our primary goal and character development for sure. 

The young cast was simply amazing.
JK: We had a full day of chemistry reads between people’s favourite casting picks. We had already had Shailyn cast when we went out to cast Billie and Zane. Raffa and Beau sparkled in their solo auditions and then when we partnered up Raffa and Beau we had the magic of the Billie and Zane friendship right off the bat. This is Raffa’s first thing that she’s ever been on screen. She’s such a special talent. They did become fast friends on set, just good people who just really wanted to bring their A-game. 

Macy Murdoch is available now on CBC Gem.

Images courtesy of Shaftesbury.

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