All posts by Greg David

Prior to becoming a television critic and owner of TV, Eh?, Greg David was a critic for TV Guide Canada, the country's most trusted source for TV news. He has interviewed television actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes folks from hundreds of television series from Canada, the U.S. and internationally. He is a podcaster, public speaker, weekly radio guest and educator, and past member of the Television Critics Association.
Featured, Frankie Drake Mysteries

Preview: Frankie Drake Mysteries returns with a change in tone in Season 2

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There are changes afoot in Season 2 of Frankie Drake Mysteries both behind and in front of the camera. As its production company, Shaftesbury, and CBC announced earlier this year, James Hurst took over showrunning duties from Cal Coons. Co-creator Michelle Ricci, meanwhile, has moved on pen Hallmark’s Hallie Dean Mystery movies starring Kellie Martin.

Fans will notice changes in front of the camera. As Hurst told me recently, a shift in tone has taken place for the series’ sophomore season. Serious themes will still be addressed, he says, but there will be less heavy storytelling.

Here’s what the CBC has released as an official synopsis for “The Old Switcheroo,” written by co-creator Carol Hay and directed by Ruba Nadda:

In the Season 2 premiere, Frankie (Lauren Lee Smith) learns that her mother Nora (Wendy Crewson) has joined the board of the Royal Ontario Museum, promising to bring an influx of treasures to the museum’s fledgling antiquities collection. Frankie and Trudy (Chantel Riley) investigate a break-in but find nothing’s been stolen. Meanwhile, Flo (Sharron Matthews) and Mary (Rebecca Liddiard) are embroiled in a mystery of their own after discovering a body in the morgue has been intentionally misidentified. 

And here are more observations from me after watching a screener.

Is Nora going legit?
After a lifetime on one side of the law, can Nora exist on the other? It would seem that’s her goal. Though, her promise to bring more treasures to the ROM had me wondering how she’d get them while staying above board. Speaking of the ROM, it’s a stunning backdrop in Monday’s return.

An X Company star drops by
Yes, I still miss Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern’s excellent Second World War drama terribly. The hurt was tempered a bit by getting to see Lara Jean Chorostecki back on my screen. She portrays Marian Hartley, a woman whose past is tied to Frankie’s. As with Murdoch Mysteries, Frankie Drake often drops historical references into its fictional tales. Tonight we hear about Howard Carter and Hiram Bingham III. Learn a little more about them here and here.

Flo and Mary take on their own case
These characters are great together. They’re both quirky and unintentionally funny, a winning combination in my book. Seeing Mary struggle to say a certain French dish and the pair teaming to identify the body in the morgue is a real treat. See if you agree.

An adversary for Frankie is unearthed
I’ve been waiting for someone to seriously challenge Frankie since Episode 1 of Season 1. It arrives Monday in the form of Dark Matter‘s Anthony Lemke. He plays Detective Greyson, a veteran cop who gets under everyone’s skin. Also? Slasher‘s Steve Byers drops in to play Hiram Bingham III.

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

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Murdoch Mysteries

Link: Downton Abbey’s Daisy guest stars on Murdoch Mysteries

From Debra Yeo of the Toronto Star:

Link: Downton Abbey’s Daisy guest stars on Murdoch Mysteries
There’s not much at first glance that connects Downton Abbey and Murdoch Mysteries, aside from both being period dramas.

One is a beloved British-made TV series about an aristocratic family and their servants; the other is a beloved Canadian-made TV series about a Toronto detective, his pathologist wife and the crimes they solve. Continue reading.

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Anne, Anne with an E

Links: Anne with an E, Season 2

From Victoria Ahearn of the Canadian Press:

Anne with an E adds first black character, LGBTQ storyline with season 2
“It’s always been a concern to me that L.M. Montgomery’s world of Avonlea is such a white world when in fact it doesn’t really accurately reflect the diversity that Canada was and is.” Continue reading. 

From Melissa Girimonte of The Televixen:

Link: Growing up with Anne: Amybeth McNulty on Season 2 of Anne with an E
“There’s definitely more of a stability in her now. She’s not afraid that she’s going to be sent away if she makes mistakes. She has a family to help her learn about her mistakes instead and help her become a better person.” Continue reading.

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Anne with an E’s Amybeth McNulty previews Anne’s Season 2 journey
“We’re definitely going to have more flashbacks, but they aren’t all going to be negative, which I thought was interesting. We see some more positive sides of how Anne fought her time in the orphanage and what those experiences gave her.” Continue reading.

From Leora Heilbronn of Brief Take:

Link: Interview: Anne with an E’s Amybeth McNulty
“She definitely has her fiery temper, which I think that some people can see as a kind of downfall of hers, but I guess that I kind of see it more as a strength, which I think is so beautiful. She’s one of my favourite characters ever. So I’m grateful that I get to incorporate parts of my heart and soul into playing her.” Continue reading. 

 

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Frankie Drake Mysteries

Links: Frankie Drake Mysteries, Season 2

From Sabrina Furminger of YVR Screen Scene:

Link: Lauren Lee Smith dishes on second season of ‘Frankie Drake Mysteries’
“Their relationship is volatile and they don’t see eye to eye, ever. He definitely creates a huge challenge and huge barriers for her in season two. She has to constantly figure out how to get around him and outsmart him.” Continue reading.

From Kelly Townsend of The TV Junkies:

Link: Frankie Drake Mysteries: Lauren Lee Smith on returning to the 1920s
“We had spent a good chunk of time getting over the exhaustion of filming a TV show, so we were all so ready and so excited to come back. We all kind of had an outline of what the season was going to look like and what at least the first few episodes looked like. We were all just super stoked to get back into it and get back into these characters.” Continue reading.

From She Does the City:

Link: CBC’s Frankie Drake Mysteries inspired by post-WWI book Toronto Girl Problems
It was during a research effort for Murdoch Mysteries that Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci came across a historical book entitled Toronto Girl Problems, which was published after World War I. Continue reading. 

From Debra Yeo of the Toronto Star:

Link: We said yes to a vintage dress for our Frankie Drake Mysteries debut
Back when I was a vintage clothing-loving teenager, coveting a bona fide flapper dress, there was one thing I didn’t figure on: old-fashioned fabrics aren’t so breathable.

In present-day Toronto, attired in a dream of a 1920s dress, I am mortified to realize as I resume my place for the umpteenth take of a dance scene in Frankie Drake Mysteries that the sweat smell I detect is coming from me. Continue reading.

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Killjoys

Links: Killjoys, “Sporemageddon”

From Heather M. of TV Goodness:

Link: Adam Barken deconstructs the Killjoys Season 4 finale, “Sporemageddon”
“Before the [two-season] pickup, we talked about what The Lady’s power would be. At the end of each season, we’ve sent [someone] away—first D’av, then Johnny, then Dutch. We didn’t want to do that again. We thought if we had two seasons, we could do the ultimate thing and take away the one thing they rely on–each other. And what if they didn’t know who each other was or who they are in relation to each other?” Continue reading.

From Kelly Townsend of The TV Junkies:

Link: Killjoys: Adam Barken talks “Sporemageddon”
“We were talking in the summer about what we would do if we came back, and we both thought that after three seasons of cliffhangers, we needed something special. Season 1 ended with D’av (Luke Macfarlane) being split off from the group. Season 2 ended with Johnny leaving. And Season 3 ended with Dutch going off into the Green. We kind of ran out of Killjoys to make go away.” Continue reading. 

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