🧡 To our incredible #FrankieDrake Fans:
— Frankie Drake Mysteries (@CBCFrankieDrake) March 10, 2021
Your support of Frankie Drake Mysteries since 2017 has meant so much to us! It goes without saying that creating storylines highlighting four strong, empowered and diverse female characters has been an absolute pleasure. pic.twitter.com/b2fgqVTduc
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect the end of Burden of Truth.
Baseball legend Branch Rickey reportedly said, "Trade a player a year too early rather than a year too late." That works well in baseball but would never apply to television in a pandemic.
The CBC got creative with its fall TV lineup since TV shows hadn't been able to shoot new episodes. Murdoch Mysteries, Frankie Drake Mysteries, and Heartland were shows that were postponed to the winter lineup.
Given the uncertainty, hanging on to a show for a bit longer is smart advice.
CBC will have a few holes to fill for the 2021-2022 TV schedule, even if the pandemic subsides in impact. Baroness von Sketch Show has completed its run. Trickster was supposed to be on the schedule but the whole Michelle Latimer situation nixed that. Kim's Convenience was done in by the loss of the creators.
That is a streak of unfortunate luck. CBC took the initiative to cancel Frankie Drake Mysteries. True, the network didn't know about the fate of Kim's Convenience.
The mysterious reasons for cancellation couldn't have been that significant that the show couldn't have had an extra season. A Season 5 would have been insurance in case of more pandemic related filming issues.
The list got a bit longer after the producers announced later today that Burden of Truth was ending tonight after 4 seasons and 34 episodes. The CBC show was an ideal companion piece running in the summers on the CW in the United States. The producers insist they knew the show would end in Season 4.
Kim's Convenience to end after Season 5; Frankie Drake Mysteries ends its CBC run
2021 CBC television winter schedule
2020 CBC television fall preview
Murdoch Mysteries landed in CBC's lineup after Citytv decided the show didn't fit in with more modern shows. Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci, who worked on Murdoch Mysteries, saw an opening for a companion piece. A show that follows Murdoch Mysteries would get some eyeballs; Frankie Drake Mysteries would make those viewers stay on CBC for an extra hour.
The audience would still be upset by a cancellation after Season 5 but not nearly as upset as they are now. CTV, Global, and Citytv would love to have the following of Frankie Drake Mysteries. Like the Citytv rational for Murdoch Mysteries, the show might not fit in well. CTV Drama Channel is a distinct option.
Ovation, PBS, and outlets in other countries that carry the program would love to find a new Canadian producer.
CBC did show Season 2 of Pure in 2021 after running on Super Channel in 2019. WGN America, along with Hulu as American partners, is moving in a news direction. Even if there is a Season 3 of the program, that would only be 6 episodes.
Diggstown will have a Season 3 on CBC and a 2021 debut on Fox in the United States. The show didn't run on either the fall or winter lineup on the CBC.
There are options for the CBC but they wouldn't replace the impact of Frankie Drake Mysteries. If another Canadian network had let go a show such as that one, we would recommend the CBC pick up that show.
Could build an all-star Canadian TV lineup out of shows that are leaving
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As we noted last year, Canadian TV lost a number of amazing shows: Cardinal, Mary Kills People, Schitt's Creek and Vikings (on their own terms) as well as Anne with an E.
Perhaps CBC has more shows such as Pretty Hard Cases coming down the TV pilot path. Female-run, predominantly female cast in a drama. Also sounds like Frankie Drake Mysteries.
Your humble narrator has been encouraged by the episodes so far of Pretty Hard Cases. There are comedic moments within the drama. The multi-episode case is intriguing and exhausting, less so if you are binge watching the show. There is a subtle warmth between the unlikely partners.
There was an implication that the CBC-Netflix relationship was a factor when Anne with an E was cancelled. The notice when Strange Empire was cancelled was cryptic at best. Frankie Drake Mysteries disappears without even a trace as to why.
The CBC is bringing in British seat fillers to round out the schedule until the NHL season ends. Canadian films on Saturday nights is a great alternative but that only goes so far
Canadian TV needs more shows like Baroness von Sketch Show, Trickster, Kim's Convenience, and Frankie Drake Mysteries. Canadian TV also needs programs that showcase more voices. CBC should be about adding more of those types of shows, not getting rid of them.
Baroness von Sketch Show, Trickster, Kim's Convenience and Frankie Drake Mysteries are available in Canada on CBC Gem.
photo credit: Frankie Drake Mysteries/CBC
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