Murdoch Mysteries' Station House No. 4 back in action

Production underway on 18 new episodes of the #1 Canadian scripted program* 

TORONTO, June 8, 2016 /CNW/ - Production has commenced on Season 10 of one of Canada's most beloved and longest-running dramatic series, Murdoch Mysteries. Coming off its highest-rated season yet on CBC as the country's top-rated homegrown scripted program for the 2015/16 television season* and marking 150 episodes in Season 10, the series will continue to follow Detective Murdoch and the heroes of Station No. 4 as they solve crimes inspired by Canadian history and featuring international celebrities of the early 20th century. This season, series lead Yannick Bisson and all-star cast Hélène Joy, Jonny Harris, Thomas Craig and Mouna Traoré will be joined by a number of returning guests including Peter Keleghan, Peter Stebbings and Alex Paxton-Beesley. New guest cast appearing in early episodes will include Samantha Bond (Downton Abbey), Daniel Maslany (Four in the Morning), and Bea Santos (World Away). Season 10 will film on location in Ontario until December 2016 and premiere on CBC this fall, followed by international rollout early in 2017.

"I am thrilled to be announcing the start of production on our 10th season! The Murdoch Mysteries audience just keeps growing – increasing 12% on CBC last season** – making it the number one Canadian scripted program in the country. We are thankful to the CBC for their support, as well as our showrunner Peter Mitchell and our cast and crew for their passion and dedication," said Christina Jennings, Executive Producer, Murdoch Mysteries / Chairman & CEO, Shaftesbury. "The series returns with debutantes vying for the hand of Toronto's most eligible bachelor – think The Bachelor in 1904!  – and there is a killer on the loose. At the same time, Toronto is thrown into chaos by the Great Fire. It will be a great launch to a great season."

Season 10 kicks off in grand style with a two-part mystery set in the world of Toronto debutantes, whose coming out is interrupted by the 1904 Great Fire of Toronto, one of the seminal events in the city's history. Following the opener, Detective William Murdoch (Bisson) and the rest of Station House No. 4 find themselves embroiled in cases both fantastical and historical. From a murder involving the Olympic Champion Canadian soccer team, an investigation into a man wrongfully jailed, the introduction of H.P. Lovecraft (the master of the macabre), a wronged woman who goes on a serial killing spree, to the death of a prize pooch at a dog show, there is very little rest for Murdoch, Dr. Julia Ogden (Joy, Durham County), Inspector Brackenreid (Craig, Coronation Street), Constable George Crabtree (Harris, Still Standing) and morgue assistant Rebecca James (Traoré, The Book of Negroes). And as all this goes on, Murdoch tries to deliver on his promise to build Ogden the home of her dreams. But will it be his nightmare?

One of Canada's most successful and longest-running dramas, Murdoch Mysteries (10 seasons; 150 x one-hour episodes) has become a staple for CBC and broadcasters around the world with its winning formula that brings together compelling mysteries, unique slices of turn-of-the-century history, ingenious inventions and personal moments for each character. The series is licensed to broadcasters in 110 countries and territories including the U.S., U.K., France, Finland and China, and continues to thrive at home, boasting an average audience of 1.4 million each week in Canada in Season 9.***

With millions of fans worldwide, Murdoch Mysteries also boasts one of the most engaged fan communities in the world, including nearly 100,000 likes on Facebook and 95,000 followers for the series and its cast on Twitter. Murdoch Mysteries fan events in Ontario attract thousands each summer, including fans from across Canada, the U.S., U.K., France and Australia. Over 2,500 fans attended the annual Murdoch Mysteries Fan Weekend in August 2015.

Murdoch Mysteries has brought dozens of historical figures to life including Mark Twain, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Harry Houdini, Winston Churchill and Bat Masterson, and featured more than 100 guest stars including William Shatner, Brendan Coyle, Ed Asner, Victor Garber, Rémy Girard, David Hewlett, Tom McCamus, Mary Walsh, Leah Pinsent, Nicholas Campbell, Steven Ogg, Dragons' Den judges Arlene Dickinson and David Chilton, Canadian opera singer Measha Brueggergosman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario David C. Onley and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. 

Murdoch Mysteries was initially adapted for television from Maureen Jennings's popular Detective Murdoch series of novels as three made-for-TV films produced by Shaftesbury and broadcast in Canada in 2004 and 2005. The series first premiered in Canada in January 2008.

Murdoch Mysteries is developed and produced by Shaftesbury, in association with CBC, ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment and UKTV, and with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit and the COGECO Program Development Fund. Shaftesbury Sales Company and ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment hold worldwide distribution rights for the series. The series is executive produced by Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Yannick Bisson and Peter Mitchell, who also serves as showrunner, and produced by Stephen Montgomery and Julie Lacey.

Murdoch Mysteries Series Social Channels: 
Twitter: @CBCMurdoch
Instagram: CBCMurdoch
Facebook: facebook.com/MurdochOnCBC
#MurdochMysteries  #MurdochMondays  #MMX

Murdoch Mysteries Cast Social Channels: 

Yannick Bisson Twitter: @yannick_bisson Instagram: yannick_bisson	Hélène Joy Twitter: @helene_joy Instagram: helenejoy_official	Jonny Harris Twitter: @jollyharris
Mouna Traoré Twitter: @_mounatraore Instagram: _mounatraore	Kristian Bruun Twitter: @TheBruun Instagram: bonnycastle

About Shaftesbury
With offices in Toronto and Los Angeles, Shaftesbury is an award-winning creator and producer of original content for television and digital platforms sold in 120 countries worldwide. Shaftesbury's slate includes 10 seasons of Murdoch Mysteries for CBC, UKTV and ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment; David Shore's new series Houdini & Doyle for Sony Pictures Television, Shaw Media, ITV and Fox; thriller series Slasher for Super Channel and NBCUniversal's Chiller; and Kids' CBC series The Moblees. Shaftesbury's digital and technology arm, Smokebomb Entertainment, produces original digital, convergent and branded entertainment projects including the hit YouTube series Carmilla, funded by U by Kotex®; mystery series V Morgan Is Dead, brought to life by RBC; fashion comedy series MsLabelled, produced in partnership with Shaw Media and Tetley tea; and the Slasher VR app for iOS, Android and Oculus Rift. In June 2014, Shaftesbury and Smokebomb launched shift2, an innovative agency that helps brands harness the power of video on YouTube and explore their millennial voice using scripted series and social media to drive measurable results.

*Source: Numeris TV Meter, 2015/16 season (wk 6-30), CBC Total, A2+, Mon 8-9 p.m., Total Canada, AMA, generated by InfoSys+TV
**Source: Numeris TV Meter, Oct. 2014 - Apr. 2016, CBC Total, A2+, Mon 8-9 p.m., Total Canada, AMA, generated by InfoSys+TV
***Source: Numeris TV Meter, 2015/16 season (wk 6-30), CBC Total, A2+, Mon 8-9 p.m., Total Canada, AMA, generated by InfoSys+TV – first-run episodes only

SOURCE Shaftesbury

Judy Lung, Shaftesbury, [email protected] / 416-363-1411 x186