Tag Archives: Private Eyes

Preview: CBC’s Wild Cards is a primetime delight

Watching the first episode of Wild Cards, I was immediately reminded of Private Eyes. Criminally cancelled too soon, the Jason Priestley/Cindy Sampson series had the same spunk and heart Wild Cards has. Turns out that makes sense, as many of the behind-the-scenes folks involved worked on Private Eyes too.

Debuting Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem, Wild Cards is charming, light and full of fun. Created by Michael Konyves (Bad Blood) Wild Cards features demoted big-city detective Cole Ellis (Giacomo Gianniotti, Murdoch Mysteries), who is paired with clever con woman Max Mitchell (Vanessa Morgan, Degrassi, Saving Hope), to solve crimes.

With a whos-who of producers in Private Eyes‘ James Genn, Shawn Piller, Lloyd Segan and writers Alexandra Zarowny, James Thorpe—and Wynonna Earp‘s Noelle Carbone and Coroner‘s Morwyn Brebner—there is plenty to like writing-wise. And the casting and lead cast chemistry is spot-on.

When we first meet Max, she’s plotting to rob a rich woman of her fortune. Caught by the police, Max is hauled into the police station for questioning by Cole, who was called in from harbour duty—the bulk of his days are filled giving tickets to wayward boaters—when the third in a string of high-profile thefts take place. With all hands on deck to solve the crimes, Cole is relegated to handling Max. Overhearing the police chief (Terry Chen) describe the circumstances of the latest heist, Max divulges to Cole what she thinks the thief will do next. She’s right, and the City Commissioner teams the two up. Solve the case, and Cole is back on the beat he wants and Max gets probation. Win-win, right?

While Cole is by the book, Max’s unique set of skills is key to capturing the baddie. I wasn’t even halfway through Wednesday’s pilot, “The Infinity Thief,” and was already enjoying the back-and-forth repartee between Gianniotti and Morgan. Morgan’s Max is sassy and smart, going over the top with clothing, accents and charm to gather intel while Cole tries to keep up.

I won’t ruin the ending of the episode, but the storyline does involve twins, priceless art and one of many appearances by the aforementioned Jason Priestley, who checks in as Max’s dad, George. This new series is wild, and I’m loving it.

Wild Cards airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Lea Thompson and Stacey Farber cast as dynamic mother and daughter duo in CTV original series, The Spencer Sisters

From a media release:

CTV and Entertainment One (eOne), together with Buffalo Gal Pictures, today announced that award-winning television and film actress, director, and producer Lea Thompson (Back To The Future, CAROLINE IN THE CITY) and acclaimed Canadian actress Stacey Farber (VIRGIN RIVER, SCHITT’S CREEK) will headline the upcoming CTV Original procedural series, THE SPENCER SISTERS.

Created by Alan McCullough (PRIVATE EYES, ROOKIE BLUE) and executive produced and co-showrun by McCullough and Jenn Engels (SORT OF), the lighthearted 10-episode, one-hour series centres on a hot-headed former police officer Darby Spencer (Farber) and her estranged, internationally renowned, mystery novelist mother, Victoria Spencer (Thompson). Despite opposite personalities, differing sensibilities, and a complicated history, they embark on the unlikeliest of ventures: becoming partners in a private detective agency. THE SPENCER SISTERS is set to begin production next month in Winnipeg, with broadcast slated for 2023. Additional details are to be announced at a later date.

As one of the titular characters, Victoria Spencer (Thompson) is an intelligent, charismatic, and renowned best-selling author of mystery novels, who is suffering from crippling writer’s block. When her estranged daughter Darby returns home, Victoria seizes the opportunity to reconnect with her. After the two work to solve a crime together, Victoria is inspired by the experience – and the possibility of a mended relationship with her daughter – to sit behind the keyboard once more.

Darby Spencer (Farber) is a smart, opinionated, and passionate woman who follows in her late father’s footsteps and becomes a police officer – much to Victoria’s stark disapproval. Carrying an innate intellect and the natural intuition of an experienced detective, Darby’s career aspirations come to a halt when she impetuously quits her job as a police constable after an unjust reprimand. About to turn 30 and in a dead-end relationship with a cheating boyfriend, she returns home, where to her surprise, she finds she may have more in common with her mother than she thought.

Talent biographies for the leading actresses are as follows:

Lea Thompson
Lea Thompson is actress, singer, and director, continuously honing her craft for over 40 years. She is best known for starring in the iconic Back To The Future films. Thompson has also starred in All The Right Moves with Tom Cruise, George Lucas’s Howard The Duck, John Hughes Some Kind Of Wonderful, and Red Dawn. Thompson won the People’s Choice award for the title role in the NBC sitcom CAROLINE IN THE CITY. Her acting credits are many, including Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Broadway, THE JANE DOE MYSTERIES, 102 episodes of the Peabody award-winning series SWITCHED AT BIRTH, and many telefilms and Sundance indies. Some of her directing credits include THE GOLDBERGS, Chuck Lorre’s CBS comedy MOM and YOUNG SHELDON, RESIDENT ALIEN, Greg Berlanti’s, STARGIRL, and STAR TREK: PICARD. Lea is perhaps most proud of her feature directorial debut The Year Of Spectacular Men, which her daughter Madelyn Deutch wrote, scored, and starred in, along with Lea and her other talented daughter Zoey Deutch. She has been married to their father, director Howard Deutch for 33 years. She is represented by Gilbertson Entertainment, Innovative Artists and Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich & Gellman.

Stacey Farber
Stacey Farber is known for her compelling performances in numerous hit TV series— both dramatic and comedic. She recurs as grief-stricken Tara in the Netflix chart-topper VIRGIN RIVER and played villainous Leslie Larr in The CW’s breakout SUPERMAN & LOIS. She can also be seen in the award-winning comedies SCHITT’S CREEK (CBC/Pop TV), GRACE AND FRANKIE (Netflix), and 18 TO LIFE (CBC) as well as UnREAL (Lifetime), THE BRAVE (NBC), DIGGSTOWN (BET+), CHICAGO JUSTICE (NBC), SAVING HOPE (CTV/Ion TV), and ROOKIE BLUE (GLOBAL/ABC). For seven years, Stacey portrayed the fan-favourite character Ellie Nash in DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION (CTV). She is represented by The Characters Talent Agency, Manager Christina Gualazzi and A3 Artists Agency.

A CTV Original series, THE SPENCER SISTERS is produced by eOne together with Buffalo Gal Pictures with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the Bell Fund, and is distributed internationally by eOne. The series is executive produced by McCullough and Jenn Engels, who are both co-showrunners. Jocelyn Hamilton serves as Executive Producer for eOne. Phyllis Laing and Jennifer Beasley are executive producers for Buffalo Gal Pictures.

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Preview: Private Eyes solves its final cases

I’m going to miss Private Eyes.

The light-hearted whodunnit, starring Jason Priestley and Cindy Sampson, has been a joy to watch over the past four seasons. It’s the perfect summer staple, combining the drama of weekly cases, sly wit, a will-they-or-won’t-they tease, and charming performances by Priestley, Sampson, Samantha Wan, Barry Flatman, Jordyn Negri, Nicole DeBoer and Mimi Kuzyk.

Returning Wednesday for Season 5 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT before moving to its regular timeslot of 9 p.m. ET/PT beginning Thursday, July 15 on Global, the kick-off instalment, “In the Arms of Morpheus” catches up a few days after the cliffhanger, which found Angie Everett (Sampson) shot and Matt Shade (Priestley) at her side.

Spoiler alert: Angie survived. That’s a good thing because it allowed episode writer/executive producer Alexandra Zarowny the opportunity to pen several laugh-out-loud moments between Angie and scene-stealer Nora (Kuzyk).

Wednesday’s crime involves Angie, during her recuperation in the hospital, overhearing someone being threatened. Is there really cause for alarm, or is it just the morphine talking? Shade is doubtful of what his business partner heard, as is Detective Danica Powers (Ruth Goodwin). But Angie sticks to her guns and does a little detective work of her own, which uncovers something sinister going on at the hospital.

I won’t ruin the surprise, but I will say it’s good to see Angie, Shade and the rest all back on my TV. It may only be eight more episodes, but I’m looking forward to the ride.

Private Eyes premieres Wednesday, July 7, at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT before moving to its regular time slot at 9 p.m. ET/PT beginning Thursday, July 15, on Global.

Image courtesy of Corus Entertainment.

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Global announces a hot new summer lineup loaded with hit original series, fresh content, and big reality TV

From a media release:

Today Global unveiled its 2021 scorching summer lineup packed with homegrown original scripted hits, an intriguing new drama, fresh summer game shows, and a returning reality juggernaut, that will have viewers entertained all summer long.

This summer kicks off with the Season 2 premiere of original medical drama Nurses, ready to scrub in for 10 new episodes beginning Monday, June 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. This season, the five nurses, Grace Knight (Tiera Skovbye), Ashley Collins (Natasha Calis), Keon Colby (Jordan Johnson-Hinds), Nazneen Khan (Sandy Sidhu), and Wolf Burke (Donald Maclean Jr.), return to St. Mary’s for another round of highly dramatic, emotionally charged episodes where they continue to put their patients first. New additions to the team include tough-as-nails nursing manager Kate Faulkner (Rachel Ancheril), who has been shipped in by a new regime to turn the hospital around in the wake of last season’s scandal. Broody and mysterious nurse Matteo Rey (Jordan Connor) struggles to find his place and questions whether he made the right decision to join St. Mary’s. Eternally sunny imaging tech Candy Kemper (Katie Uhlman) also joins, as does Dr. Ivy Turcotte (Humberly Gonzalez) who forms a romantic relationship with one of the nurses and harbours many secrets of her own. With all-new, high-stakes medical cases and romantic entanglements, the five nurses will heroically endeavour to help their patients, while still struggling mightily as they learn how to help themselves. Ahead of the Season 2 premiere, viewers can catch up on the first season of Nurses, now available on Global TV App.

Following the Big Brother premiere on July 7, Season 5 of Global original hit series Private Eyes premieres at a special time 9:30 P.M. ET/PT. Since debuting in 2016, Canada’s favourite detective duo are back on the case for one final season as Global bids a heartfelt farewell to the original hit series. Moving to its regular time slot at 9 p.m. ET/PT beginning Thursday, July 15 on Global, the final season will see Matt Shade (Jason Priestley) and Angie Everett (Cindy Sampson) doing some much needed soul searching after last season’s harrowing cliff-hanger forcing them to examine what – and who – is most important to them. While working on a series of cases helping others discover their truths, Shade and Everett are left to wonder if their truths are ultimately intertwined. New romances and a busy workload will keep them occupied for a while, but will they be able to admit to their growing chemistry?

Also returning for the final season is Shade and Everett’s quirky assistant Zoe Chow (Samantha Wan), along with Detective Danica Powers (Ruth Goodwin), the always entertaining Don Shade (Barry Flatman), as well as Jules Shade (Jordyn Negri), Becca D’Orsay (Nicole DeBoer), and Nora Everett (Mimi Kuzyk). Newcomers to the scene include Everett’s high school frenemy and Shade’s new love interest, Jada Berry (Kandyse McClure), while returning guest stars include the sexy P.I. Tex (Brett Donahue), and an old fan favourite, the hilarious Detective Maz (Ennis Esmer).

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Nick Nurse, Mike Weir and Scott McGillivray hit the links on Private Eyes

It was a hot September afternoon in 2019, back when set visits to the media were open and masks weren’t required. As we drove down the driveway to the main clubhouse of the Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto, it looked like anything but a set. Because if you’ve ever been to a charity golf tournament, well, that’s what it looked like, from the immaculate greens to the tents holding all kinds of swag. Which I suppose was the point — and exactly what is at the centre of this week’s episode of Private Eyes.

“There’s a mystery that takes Shade and Angie to a celebrity golf tournament,” says series star Jason Priestley. “It’s fun but it also provides us with a lot of logistical challenges.”

He should know; he directed the episode. “Shooting at a golf course and shooting an episode that revolves around a sporting event like this, it’s always a lot. It’s been interesting to deal with but it’s what we do on this show. We’re always looking for fun, sexy interesting worlds here in Toronto and this is the one we decided to delve into this week.”

In “Under Par-essure,” (we see what they did there), Shade (Priestley) and Angie (Cindy Sampson) are on the hunt for the stalker of a female golf pro. On the non-work side, sparks fly between Shade and actress Willow Marshall, while Angie decides it may be time to finally let her hair down and follow in her best friend’s fun footsteps.

“Mia’s always trying to get Angie out of her shell and this time, she’s ready to have some fun,” says Sampson of her workaholic character and her paramedic pal, played by Keshia Chanté. “But she has a case to work on.”

Enter Mia, who, Chanté makes clear, is not there to golf. “Mia wants to see what celebrities are here and get Angie to meet some people.” Ironic for the former ET Canada correspondent, who’s met her share of famous people. “She just wants them to have some fun.”

Speaking of which, who better to take part in a celebrity golf tournament than Mike Weir, who deadpanned, “It IS a golf-themed episode so I kind of fit in.”

The golfer was both nervous and excited when the show reached out to his agents. “Even though I’m out of my comfort zone, being in golf attire, at a course, in golf mode, helped,” says Weir who, up until this, had only ever appeared in golf commercials. Also by his side was his real-life girlfriend, reality star Michelle Money.

“They cast Mike for a small cameo, and then somehow I got written into the script,” says the Bachelor in Paradise winner. “We’re big fans of the show and Jason so we were honoured to have been included in this episode with this group.”

Weir wasn’t the only one there repping Canadian sports. Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was approached to make an appearance, though he initially wasn’t sure. But once he told his executive assistant, Jenny, she insisted he sign up.

“It beats being in the office,” Nurse says of his surroundings. “It’s nice to get out of the basketball realm, seeing how other big-time things go down. So, yeah, it’s pretty cool.”

And he may have gotten bit by the acting bug. When I asked him if he’d consider making more cameos, he replied, “Uh, yeah, maybe.” OK, maybe more like a nibble but, still. Don’t count out future guest appearances by Nurse.

Scott McGillivray, on the other hand, hasn’t met a camera that can resist him. He doesn’t golf but that wasn’t going to stop him from beating his rival. That’s right, there’s a little competition between the HGTV star and Shade.

“Taking down Matt Shade in this tournament, that’s the plan,” says McGillivray of his on-screen persona, adding, “It’s fun to mix it up, get a little bit of exposure to something different.” Very different.

“Doing home reno shows isn’t hard but it’s also not easy — but it’s not as hard as this,” admits McGillivray. “For me, I’m like an animal in my natural habitat when I’m on my set. They kind of let me loose, and they film me in the wild and I just do stuff and whatever I say, I say.”

On the set of a crime show, not so much. “Here, I feel a bit like a caged animal that’s been trained to juggle and dance. Being a caged animal is nice, they feed you, you don’t have to hunt or fend for yourself. But at the same time, it’s a lot of juggling. This takes discipline.”

McGillivray does have something up his sleeve: return the favour and get Priestley on one of his shows. “He can come on set and help me renovate a house. And we’ll see how he does with a hammer in his hand instead of a golf club.”

Priestley’s game. “Some of my earliest jobs, before I was lucky enough to make it in the entertainment business, were in construction,” says the former 90210 star. “I was a house painter, I put up drywall, I did boat refinishing. I don’t think I’ll show him up but I can hold my own.

“I have no problem doing bad jobs on a construction site. And I’m sure that’s what he’s going to give me.”

Private Eyes airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Global.

Image courtesy of Corus Entertainment.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail