''Frankie Drake Mysteries'' is a Canadian drama that ran on CBC from November 6, 2017 to March 8, 2021. The series starred Lauren Lee Smith and

Chantel Riley Chantel Riley is a Jamaican Canadians, Jamaican Canadian actress. Riley made her stage debut in 2011 playing the character of Nala in a German production of ''The Lion King'' in Hamburg. The following year she played the same character on Bro ...

as Frankie Drake and her partner Trudy who ran an all female private detective service in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the 1920s.

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."The TV home of Murdoch Mysteries is getting a new detective drama"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', April 4, 2017. Frankie and Trudy are often assisted on their cases by Mary Shaw ( Rebecca Liddiard), a morality officer in Toronto's police force and Flo Chakowitz (Sharron Matthews), a morgue attendant 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 *

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 Sharron Matthews is a Canadian actress.Daniel Nolan '' Hamilton Spectator'', February 25, 2021. She is most noted for her regular role as Flo Chakowitz in the television series '' Frankie Drake Mysteries'', for which she received Canadian Screen ...

as Flo Chakowitz, a morgue attendant at the Toronto City Morgue who provides information to Frankie

Recurring

* Wendy Crewson as Nora Amory, Frankie's mother, a con artist * Karen Robinson (seasons 1-3; guest season 4) as Mildred Clarke, Trudy's mother, a good Christian woman who is not afraid to speak her mind when needed * Grace Lynn Kung (seasons 1–3) as Wendy Quon, the owner of Quon's Cafe, a speakeasy in the Ward that is frequented by the main cast * Romaine Waite as Bill Peters a friend of Trudy's who works at city hall and helps the women out with information at times. At the beginning of season four, was engaged to Trudy. He had a job offer in Ottawa, which caused Trudy to break off the engagement *

Emmanuel Kabongo Emmanuel Kabongo (born December 25, 1986) is a Canadian actor and producer. Born and raised in Zaire before it became the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kabongo immigrated to Canada with his family in the 1990s. He began his acting career as a ...

as Moses Page (seasons 1 & 3), Frankie's boxing instructor with whom she has a casual romantic relationship * Steve Lund as Ernest Hemingway (season 1), a writer and reporter for the ''

'' * Richard Walters (seasons 1–3) as Tickles Malone, a musician who Frankie bumps into at different clubs around Toronto * Anthony Lemke as Detective Grayson (season 2), recently transferred to the Toronto police and a thorn in Frankie's investigations * Johnathan Sousa as Alessandro Contento (season 4), a European race car driver who is Frankie's boyfriend * Ben Sanders as Steven Reid (season 4), a journalist for the ''Worker's Gazette'' and Mary's boyfriend * Patrick Garrow as Harvey Lyle (season 4), a detective in Mary's precinct, who suspects Mary is smarter than she lets on and tries to catch her snooping * Mac Fyfe as Sebastian West (season 4), Frankie's neighbour, a carpenter, who has a passing interest in Frankie

Guest

* Jonny Harris as George Crabtree (season 1), who has retired from the Toronto police and was a successful investor * Derek McGrath as Abraham Amory (season 1) * Romane Portail as Coco Chanel (season 2), who hires Frankie to determine who shot at her in Toronto * Honeysuckle Weeks as

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

(season 3), whom Frankie meets in England *

Dillon Casey Dillon Francis Casey (born October 29, 1983) is an American-born Canadian actor and producer. He is best known for his role as Sean Pierce in The CW action-thriller television series ''Nikita''. Early life Casey was born in Dallas, Texas and ra ...

as Jack Drake (seasons 3 & 4), Frankie's younger half brother *

Geraint Wyn Davies Geraint Wyn Davies (, 20 April 1957) is a Welsh-American stage, film and television actor-director. Educated in Canada, he has worked in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. His most famous role as the vampire-turned police detec ...

as Ned Drake (season 4), Frankie's dead father, who she discovers is alive and well

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2017–2018)

Season 2 (2018)

Season 3 (2019)

Season 4 (2021)

Production

The series was created by Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci; both women also served as writers and producers on ''

Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick B ...

''. It is produced by Shaftesbury Films. On April 5, 2018, the show was renewed for a second season. On March 25, 2019, the show was renewed for a third season. The third season premiere was filmed in England, with Honeysuckle Weeks playing the role of British author

. On May 27, 2020, ''Frankie Drake Mysteries'' was renewed by CBC for a fourth season. On February 28, 2021, CBC announced the show would not be renewed for a fifth season. In May 2020, an animated spinoff for kids called ''Mary and Flo: On the Go'' was reported as being in production; the web series was released in March 2022.

Broadcast

Alibi in the United Kingdom aired the second season starting January 21, 2019, with the third season aired 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 fourth and final season premiered on October 2, 2021, following the broadcast of the new special titled ''Frankie Drake Mysteries: Music at Midnight'', and the series concluded on December 4, 2021. Co-produced by Ovation in conjunction with the Toronto Sympathy Orchestra and Shaftesbury Films, this special features interviews and performances from series stars

, and more. The special wasn't aired in Canada, instead released onto YouTube by Shaftsbury on their channel earlier in February 2021, and premiered on Ovation on September 25, 2021 at 7PM ET/4PM PT. Additionally, PBS has started broadcasting the show and offering it on-demand through its membership program, Passport. The show was further picked up in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Home media

Reception

The series has received generally positive reviews from critics since its release. John Doyle of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' 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 ''

'' wrote that "the messaging in CBC series sometimes hits you over the head, but it's fun to watch women run their own show."

Notes

References

External links

''Frankie Drake Mysteries''
at CBC.ca *{{IMDb title, 6881870 CBC Television original programming 2010s Canadian crime drama television series 2017 Canadian television series debuts Cultural depictions of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia Television series by Shaftesbury Films Television series set in the 1920s Television shows set in Toronto 2020s Canadian crime drama television series 2021 Canadian television series endings Canadian historical television series