Murdoch Mysteries

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Murdoch Mysteries
Genre	Crime Mystery Period drama
Based on	Characters from novels by Maureen Jennings
Developed by	Cal Coons Alexandra Zarowny
Starring	Yannick Bisson Hélène Joy Thomas Craig Jonny Harris Georgina Reilly (Season 6-)[1]
Theme music composer	Robert Carli
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	92 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Scott Garvie Noel Hedges Cal Coons Peter Mitchell Christina Jennings
Producer	Jan Peter Meyboom
Production locations	Toronto, Belleville, Hamilton, St. John's, Ottawa, Cambridge, Drumheller, Guelph, Pitt Meadows, and Dawson City, Canada, Bristol, England
Running time	46 minutes
Production companies	Shaftesbury Films Rogers Media (seasons 1-5) UKTV ITV Studios Global Entertainment
Original release
Network	City (Seasons 1-5) CBC (Seasons 6-)
Release	January 20, 2008 (2008-01-20) – present

Murdoch Mysteries is a Canadian drama television series aired on both City and CBC Television, featuring Yannick Bisson as William Murdoch, a police detective working in Toronto, Ontario, around the turn of the twentieth century. The television series is based on the series of novels by Maureen Jennings.

On September 27, 2011, Rogers Media announced that it would not be continuing the series beyond its fifth season. On November 15, 2011, it was reported that CBC had picked up the show and ordered a sixth season, which premiered on January 7, 2013. On April 2, 2013, CBC renewed the show for a seventh season, with 18 episodes, which started on September 30, 2013.

The series takes place in Toronto starting in 1895 (the current season takes place in 1901) and follows Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) of the Toronto Constabulary, who solves many of his cases using methods of detection that were unusual at the time. These methods include fingerprinting (referred to as "finger marks" in the series), blood testing, surveillance, and trace evidence.^[2]

Some episodes feature anachronistic technology whereby Murdoch sometimes uses the existing technology of his time to improvise a crude prototype of a technology that would be more readily recognizable to the show's 21st-century audience. In one episode, for instance, he creates a primitive version of sonar to locate a sunken ship in Lake Ontario. In another, he effectively invents wire-tapping. In still another, a foreign police officer has a photograph which Murdoch needs as evidence, so Murdoch asks the other officer to overlay the photograph with a grid which is numerically coded for the colour in each square, and then to transmit the numerical data to Murdoch via telegraph — with the end result that the foreign officer has essentially sent Murdoch a bitmap image they call a "facsimile" — a telefax.

Detective Murdoch is assisted by the three other main characters: Inspector Brackenreid (Thomas Craig), Doctor Julia Ogden (Hélène Joy), and the inexperienced but eager Constable George Crabtree (Jonny Harris), who aspires to be a mystery-novel writer. Brackenreid, Murdoch's immediate superior, is a blunt and sceptical Yorkshireman with a fondness for whisky, and prefers conventional methods of detection over Murdoch's eccentric methods, though he is typically pleased and proud when Murdoch is successful despite the odds. Crabtree is often unable to grasp the more advanced methods, but his enthusiasm and loyalty make him a good assistant. Like Crabtree, Dr. Ogden is a great supporter of Murdoch's methods. Her skill in pathology usually helps by revealing a great deal of useful evidence to aid Murdoch in solving cases. Throughout the series, Murdoch's growing infatuation with her, and his inability to express his feelings, provide a light subplot. In the fifth season, after Dr. Ogden is married to Dr. Darcy Garland (a colleague she met in Buffalo), a new doctor is introduced, Doctor Emily Grace (Georgina Reilly). She and George Crabtree show some romantic interest in each other.

Real history is an important element in most episodes, and the plots, though fictitious, sometimes involve real people, such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, H G Wells, Nikola Tesla, Wilfrid Laurier, Jack London, Arthur Conan Doyle, Queen Victoria, Oliver Mowat, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Henry Ford, Sir Winston Churchill and Thomas Edison. Future events are often foreshadowed. For example, it is implied that secret British-American government co-operation has produced a highly advanced aircraft similar to an airship, and Crabtree and Murdoch allude to the building of a secret government facility in Nevada and New Mexico "at Concession 51" (an allusion to Area 51). Characters also refer to actual inventions of the 19th century and extrapolate from them to future inventions such as microwave ovens, night-vision goggles, computers, the games "Cluedo" (marketed as "Clue" in the U.S.) and "Hangman", the toy Silly Putty, and a silencer for small arms.

Another underlying theme of the series involves the fact that Murdoch is a Roman Catholic in what was at the time a predominantly Protestant city, and the prejudices that he occasionally encounters as a result.

Murdoch Mysteries was produced and developed by Shaftesbury Films in association with Citytv, ITV Studios Global Entertainment, UKTV and with the assistance of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit; the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit; and the Canadian Television Fund.

Seasons one and two were filmed at the Toronto Film Studios facility on Eastern Avenue in Toronto. However, that facility was closed at the end of 2008,^[3] forcing the third season to be filmed elsewhere in Toronto, in the area near Kipling Subway to the west of the city.

For seasons one, two and three, filming locations included the Galt district of Cambridge, Ontario. Sidewalks and driveways were covered in earth and in season one the Dobbie Mansion was used for about a week of indoor filming. Parts of the opening episode of Season three was filmed in Bristol in England.

Shaftesbury Films announced in April 2010 that a fourth season had been ordered by Citytv and Alibi, with production scheduled to begin later that year.^[4] In August 2010 Shaftesbury Films announced that production on the fourth season had begun and was scheduled to continue through November 2010 with filming in Toronto and Hamilton.^[5] Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper filmed a cameo appearance as a constable in the fourth season on October 15, 2010 when he visited the set with his daughter.^[6]

Filming of season five began in July 2011 which included a visit to Dawson City in the Yukon.^[7] On September 27, 2011 Rogers Media announced that they were not continuing with Murdoch Mysteries beyond the fifth season.^[8] In response to the cancellation of the series Christina Jennings, executive producer and CEO of Shaftesbury Films said:

We've watched the show grow with the passionate support of audiences in Canada and around the world, and look forward to bringing the storyline to a fulfilling conclusion for fans during our final season.^[8]

Murdoch Mysteries was described as an "odd fit" for Citytv's schedule which consists of more contemporary, urban hip, imported programming. Shaftesbury's UK partners in the production of the series, British broadcaster UKTV and the international distributor ITV Studios Global Entertainment, were both interested in additional seasons. Christina Jennings approached Kristine Stewart, executive vice-president of CBC's English services, about continuing the series and she felt that "a home at CBC made absolute sense". Reports of the change of broadcasters and commitment for a sixth season appeared in the evening of November 15 with the press releases being issued on November 16.^[9] Production of the sixth season began in April 2012 to be ready for CBC in September 2012, but later the premiere for season six was changed to January 2013 and instead an encore of season five aired in September.

In 2013, Murdoch Mysteries aired a fictional crossover with another CBC Television crime drama, Republic of Doyle.^[10] With the two shows set over 100 years apart, Allan Hawco appeared on the November 25, 2013 episode of Murdoch Mysteries as Jacob Doyle, a 19th-century ancestor of his regular character Jake Doyle, while Bisson appeared on the January 29, 2014 episode of Republic of Doyle as Detective Bill Murdoch, a 21st-century descendant of Detective William Murdoch.^[10]

In addition to the regular television series, several short run web series have also been created under the Murdoch Mysteries banner.

In 2011, Murdoch Mysteries: The Curse of the Lost Pharaohs debuted on citytv.com, blending live action and animation to depict a storyline in which Crabtree, Murdoch, Dr. Ogden and Inspector Brackenreid were forced to battle mummies who were attempting to kill Queen Victoria.^[11] The storyline of the webseries was also integrated into regular television series; within the main television plot Crabtree, as an aspiring writer, spent much of the season working on The Curse of the Lost Pharaohs as a fantasy novel manuscript. The Curse of the Lost Pharaohs garnered nominations for Best Digital Program: Fiction at the 2012 Emmy Awards, Cross-Platform Project, Fiction at the 2012 Banff World Media Festival and Cross-Platform Project, Fiction at the 2013 Canadian Screen Awards.

The 2012 season web series The Murdoch Effect featured a time travel plotline in which William Murdoch suddenly found himself transported to the 21st century, and had to solve a case with eerie parallels to one he was investigating in his own timeline.

The 2013 series Nightmare on Queen Street featured an interactive story in which the viewer was called upon to solve the case by piecing together clues from each webisode. This series also garnered a nomination for Best Cross-Platform Project, Fiction at the 2014 Canadian Screen Awards.

In Australia, Murdoch Mysteries airs on 13th Street Monday to Friday at 7:30pm, with the latest series also airing at 7:30pm on Saturdays.

In Brazil, Murdoch Mysteries airs on "Globosat +".

In the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, Murdoch Mysteries airs on Eén on Saturday, at 4:00pm.

In the Czech Republic, the first three seasons was aired on ČT1 from spring to autumn 2010.

In Denmark, the first season of Murdoch Mysteries was aired on TV 2 Charlie, in fall 2009.

In France, the first season premiered on June 14, 2009, on France 3 as Les Enquêtes de Murdoch, starting with the second episode. It aired in a Sunday night timeslot, traditionally the timeslot for U.K. police television-drama series such as Midsomer Murders or Lewis, whose audience ratings were excellent. Due to comparatively much lower ratings, the series was placed on hiatus. The series returned in 2010 but was again removed after three weeks. The series returned once more in September 2011, with two episodes of the second season every Sunday night. That French version also plays in Quebec on the Quebecor channel Addik TV.

In Hungary, Murdoch Mysteries is on Story4 TV from 2010 on Mondays at 8 pm.

In Iran, Murdoch Mysteries airs on Manoto 1.

In Italy, Murdoch Mysteries is on Rai 3 and Fox Crime Italy.

In Lithuania Murdoch Mysteries is airing on Lietuvos rytas TV.

In Norway, Murdoch Mysteries airs on Vox.

In Poland, the first season of Murdoch Mysteries was aired on Ale Kino! in 2008; season five airs from December 9, 2012.

In Portugal, Murdoch Mysteries airs on Fox Crime Portugal.

In Russia, Murdoch Mysteries was aired on TVC.

In Singapore, Murdoch Mysteries is on Channel 512 on Universal Channel Asia.

In Sweden the first season of Murdoch Mysteries aired on Kanal 9 in summer 2009, season two started on June 20, 2010. It continues to air on Kanal 9, both reruns and new episodes.

In Thailand, Murdoch Mysteries was aired on True Series.

In Turkey, Murdoch Mysteries airs on MovieMax Family Channel in Digiturk.

The series airs in the United Kingdom on Alibi (formerly known as UKTV Drama).

In South Korea, Murdoch Mysteries airs on EBS.

In June 2009 American Public Television, a broadcast-syndication distributor, acquired the first season of Murdoch Mysteries from ITV Global Entertainment for broadcast syndication to public-television stations throughout the U.S.^[12]

Until July 2013, the series aired on Netflix in the U.S. and then the series started airing on Cable TV arts channel, Ovation, as The Artful Detective.^[13]

In 2013 Acorn.tv began showing the first six seasons on its online pay-for-view service.

Acorn Media has released five seasons of Murdoch Mysteries on DVD and Blu-ray in Regions 1 & A, with the sixth season being released on November 26, 2013.^[14] Acorn subtitles are in American English rather than Canadian English.

ITV Studios Home Entertainment has released four seasons on DVD in Region 2 and has also released a box set of the seasons 1-3.

• Murdoch Mysteries at CBC Television
• Official website (requires Adobe Flash)
• Murdoch Mysteries at Alibi
• The Artful Detective at Ovation
• Murdoch Mysteries at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show