Production Begins on Shaftesbury’s New Drama for Bravo! Canada

TORONTO, July 18: Shaftesbury Films has begun production on
13 one-hour episodes of the new drama series The Murdoch Mysteries, scheduled to air on Bravo! in Canada next year.

Filming of the series began June 11 and will run through
October 17 in Toronto and Hamilton. The series is based on Maureen Jennings’s
acclaimed mystery novels and a number of TV movies produced by Shaftesbury. Set
in 1895 Toronto, The Murdoch Mysteries
explores the world of a young detective named William Murdoch, played by
Yannick Bisson (Sue Thomas F.B. Eye),
who uses forensic techniques like fingerprinting and trace evidence to solve
some of the city's most gruesome murders. Though his unconventional approach
elicits ridicule from fellow officers and skepticism from his boss, Inspector
Brackenreid, played by Thomas Craig (Coronation Street), Murdoch is often the only one who can crack the
case. Murdoch’s small circle of confidantes includes pathologist Julia Ogden,
played by Hélène Joy (Durham County),
an ally who shares the detective’s fascination with forensic science, and
Constable George Crabtree, played by Jonny Harris (Hatching, Matching
and Dispatching), Murdoch’s eager but
inexperienced right-hand man.

The Murdoch Mysteries
is developed and produced by Shaftesbury Films and produced in association with
Bravo!, Granada International and 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. The Murdoch Mysteries is executive produced by Christina Jennings and
Scott Garvie for Shaftesbury Films (ReGenesis).

“The response to the first three Detective Murdoch
movies in Canada and around the world has been excellent,” said Christina
Jennings, the chairman of Shaftesbury Films. “With this series, we’re taking
the brand to the next level by injecting a dose of humor, and giving it an
edgier, more contemporary feel. Bravo! has been a wonderful partner in the Murdoch
franchise and we are delighted to be
working with them again.”