Frankie Drake Mysteries is a Canadian drama which premiered on CBC on November 6, 2017. The series stars Lauren Lee Smith and Chantel Riley as Frankie Drake and her partner Trudy who run an all-female private detective service in Toronto, Canada in the 1920s. In May 2020, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which is scheduled to air in early 2021.
Overview
Lauren Lee Smith portrays the fictional Frankie Drake, the first female private detective in 1920s Toronto, with Chantel Riley as her crime-solving partner Trudy Clarke. Frankie and Trudy are often assisted on their cases by Mary, a morality officer in Toronto's police force, and Flo, a pathologist at the Toronto City Morgue.
Cast and characters
Main
Lauren Lee Smith as Frankie Drake, Toronto's first female private detective and the owner of Drake Private Detectives
Chantel Riley as Trudy Clarke, Frankie's partner and friend
Rebecca Liddiard as Mary Shaw, a morality officer in Toronto's police force who often helps Frankie with her cases
Sharron Matthews as Flo Chakowitz, a pathologist at the Toronto City Morgue who provides information to Frankie
Recurring
Wendy Crewson as Nora Amory, Frankie's mother and a con artist
Karen Robinson as Mildred Clarke, Trudy's mother. A good Christian woman who is not afraid to speak her mind when needed.
The series was created by Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci; both women also served as writers and producers and previously worked on Murdoch Mysteries together. It is produced by Shaftesbury Films. On April 5, 2018 the show was renewed for a second season of ten episodes. On March 25, 2019, the show was renewed for a third season of ten episodes. The third season premiere was filmed in England, with Honeysuckle Weeks playing the role of British author, Agatha Christie. On May 27, 2020, Frankie Drake Mysteries was renewed by CBC for a fourth season, which will air in early 2021. Also as of 2020, an animated spinoff for kids called Mary and Flo: On the Go! is in production.
Connections with ''Murdoch Mysteries''
It is revealed in Frankie Drake Mysteries that the series takes place in the same universe as Murdoch Mysteries and that it takes place years after the events of Murdoch Mysteries. Some main and recurring characters from Murdoch Mysteries make appearances in Frankie Drake Mysteries, such as Inspector Thomas Brackenreid who is revealed to have retired as an inspector and head of Station House Four. Also Constable George Crabtree is revealed in the eighth episode of the first season to have retired from Constabulary to become a successful investor and Detective Llewellyn Watts is revealed to have become the successor to Brackenreid as the new inspector and head of Station House Four.
Broadcast
in the United Kingdom aired the second season starting January 21, 2019, with the third season to come in 2020. Ovation in the United States aired seasons one and two back to back, beginning on June 15, 2019, and started airing season three on April 4, 2020. The show has also been picked up in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Home media
Title
Region 1
Region 2
Region 4
Extras
Discs
Season One
May 8, 2018
May 9, 2018
June 27, 2018
N/A
N/A
Season Two
June 25, 2019
April 8, 2019
June 26, 2019
N/A
N/A
Reception
The series has received generally positive reviews since its release. John Doyle of The Globe and Mail remarked "it's a hoot and as silly as all get-out," and concluded that "thanks to its charm and the frocks, skirts, suits and, well, the gorgeous furniture, it's frightfully good entertainment." Johanna Schneller of the Toronto Star wrote that "the messaging in CBC series sometimes hits you over the head, but it's fun to watch women run their own show."
