Murdoch Mysteries returns tonight for a 20th season — not bad for a series cancelled 15 seasons ago.
Citytv felt there were no mysteries left to solve when they announced that they were ditching the series after five seasons in 2011. CBC swooped in immediately and cut a deal with production company Shaftesbury to extend the series to a sixth season.
Now here we are, 300 episodes later with a new season launching tonight on CBC and CBC Gem.
“The Maltese Falconer” follows Detective Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) as he travels to Malta to investigate a murder authorities believe was committed by mystery author Nigella Fletcher (guest star Sally Lindsay). Did she bump off her husband or was she only Malteasing? As will be evident by the Mediterranean scenery the episode was shot on location in Malta.
The time frame for the series has arrived at 1914 on the eve of the Great War in Europe.
As is often the case with a series lasting two decades, there have been several cast changes in recent years. Prominent the past two seasons has been the addition of Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Inspector Choi. On tonight’s premiere we find him struggling to recover his nerve after being shot at the end of last season.
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Chief Inspector Brackenreid (Thomas Craig) remains on the series, but fans hoping to catch a glimpse of Murdoch’s bride Dr. Julia Ogden (Helene Joy) will be disappointed. The 47-year-old actress left the series two years ago to raise her child in Australia; the character is supposedly in London starting a hospital.
In the hands of executive producer and showrunner Peter Mitchell, the series has always weaved an imaginative blend of fact and fiction. In Season 20, there will be storylines involving real life personalities such as heavyweight champion Jack Johnson and woman’s rights activist Nelly McClung. Jason Mews, the Jay and Silent Bob star and co-host, along with Matt Goehring, of the Murdoch Mysteries Podcast, will return as former criminal Slippery Bill Watson.
Sadly, so far, there are no plans to bring back Minor No. 5, or the guy who was selling train tickets, both played by, well, me.
Murdoch Mysteries, which is shown in over 150 countries, continues as one of Canada’s most-watched TV exports.
