''Farm Crime'' is a Canadian true crime documentary series which premiered on CBC's online streaming service,

CBC Gem CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

(formerly the CBC Player), in August 2018. Created by Geoff Morrison and produced by

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

-based production company Big Cedar Films, the series investigates unconventional crimes in the world of farming and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. The series was one of the first to be commissioned exclusively for the CBC Gem streaming platform, and was reported by CBC to have been the most-streamed original unscripted series over a seven-day period and a twelve-week period when its first season premiered. In December 2020, it was announced that

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Unscripted Television optioned the format rights to the show, and that an American version of the show is in development.

Episodes

Series overview

The series documents the stories of people who have been victims of agricultural crime. Each 10-15 minute episode examines a different incident, usually a theft, and how it affects the victims both emotionally and financially. The series also explores the many diverse aspects of the agricultural industry in Canada, with each episode taking place in different provinces across Canada. The first season of the series tackles crimes such as

cattle rustling Cattle raiding is the act of stealing cattle. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examination of the English language and English ...

, oyster poaching, livestock theft, and cargo theft. The second season looks at crop, lobster, and

horse theft Horse theft is the crime of stealing horses. A person engaged in stealing horses is known as a horse thief. Historically, punishments were often severe for horse theft, with several cultures pronouncing the sentence of death upon actual or presu ...

, elver poaching, and

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

that threaten agriculture.

Season 1 (2018)

Season 2 (2021)

Reception

The show has been praised for looking at the crimes with intelligence and respect. At the end of 2018, ''Farm Crime'' was named as one of the “25 most binge-worthy TV shows of 2018” by NOW Magazine. It also received positive reviews from Canadian entertainment websites, and was cited for its unique spin on the true crime genre.

Awards & Nominations

The first season of Farm Crime was nominated for the Best Web Program or Series in Non-Fiction under the Digital Media category at the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards. The first season was also nominated for Best Web Non-Fiction Series at the

Banff World Media Festival The Banff World Media Festival (formerly known as the Banff World Television Festival) is an international media event held in the Canadian Rockies at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The festival is dedicated to world t ...

in the same year. At the T.O. Webfest in 2019, the series was nominated for the IWCC Canadian Spotlight and Best Cinematography awards, and won the Best Canadian Series and Best Documentary Series awards.

References

External links

* * CBC Gem original programming 2010s Canadian documentary television series 2018 Canadian television series debuts Canadian non-fiction web series {{Canada-documentary-tv-prog-stub