Frankie Drake Mysteries is a Canadian drama that ran on CBC Television from November 6, 2017 to March 8, 2021. The series stars Lauren Lee Smith and Chantel Riley as Frankie Drake and her partner Trudy Clarke who run 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.[1][2] 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.[3]
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 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 as Moses Page (seasons 1 & 3), Frankie's boxing instructor with whom she has a casual romantic relationship
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
Nora has a legitimate job at the Toronto Museum, where an old enemy of Frankie's tries to pull a con job and almost pulls a con on Nora herself. In the end, Frankie goes to the United States to meet up a famous archeologist to get some information. Meanwhile, Flo and Mary unite to find out the truth about a mysterious man involved in a seemingly straight-up death.
13
2
"Last Dance"
Ruba Nadda
James Hurst
October 1, 2018 (2018-10-01)
A case of mistaken identity has a diabetic man kidnapped during a dance marathon. Frankie meets Detective Grayson for the first time. The accidental kidnapped victim is diabetic and is on a ticking clock to get a newly invented medication called insulin.
14
3
"Radio Daze"
Cal Coons
Ruba Nadda
October 8, 2018 (2018-10-08)
A producer of a local radio station tries to use a radio play as a cover to pull a bank job, but Mary figures it out and tries to warn Frankie.
15
4
"Emancipation Day"
Ruba Nadda
Andrew Burrows-Trotman
October 15, 2018 (2018-10-15)
Marcus Garvey is in town to lend his support to a fundraiser for a black girls' orphanage and offers a Trudy a job in Chicago. Flo and Mary take a trip to a Rochester, NY police station, where they encounter a female police officer.
Coco Chanel hires Frankie, while visiting Toronto, when someone tries to shoot her when the police did not take it seriously. A local gossip columnist in the Toronto Star called Lipstick writes about the goings-on happening before Coco's fashion show. Lipstick is revealed to be Nora.
17
6
"Extra Innings"
Sudz Sutherland
John Callaghan
October 29, 2018 (2018-10-29)
A female baseball player is killed while playing, who Frankie finds out that was being paid to throw the game. Mary joins the team to help solve the murder, while Frankie meets Bessie Starkman, who is a racketeer.
18
7
"50 Shades of Greyson"
Cal Coons
Jessie Gabe
November 5, 2018 (2018-11-05)
Mary suspects Detective Greyson of hiding evidence and decides to spy on him on her own, only to get caught by Greyson himself and fired instead. It is revealed that the case is familiar to Greyson because it is similar to one at his old precinct. They discover that one of the killers is someone from Mary's past.
19
8
"Diamonds are a Gal's Best Friend"
Peter Stebbings
Carol Hay
November 12, 2018 (2018-11-12)
A famous diamond is stolen and Frankie and Trudy take the case with some help from Nora.
20
9
"Dealer's Choice"
Ruba Nadda
John Callaghan
November 19, 2018 (2018-11-19)
Frankie and Trudy agree to help a young man retrieve his pocket watch, which has sentimental value. Their search takes them to Bessie Starkman's casino, who is not happy to see Frankie, but admits her casino has been robbed at gunpoint a few times. The two women agree to help each other out.
21
10
"Now You See Her"
Ruba Nadda
James Hurst
November 26, 2018 (2018-11-26)
Frankie goes undercover as a magician's assistant when his first assistant dies in a magic act gone wrong.
Agatha Christie helps Frankie solve the disappearance and poisoning of an old friend of hers from the war, while Frankie is visiting in England. Trudy and the gang help Frankie out at home, while dealing with leaky plumbing.
A priceless bottle of wine is stolen, leading Frankie and Trudy to investigate a trio of flappers, infamous for their wild lifestyles.
35
4
"A Most Foiled Assault"
Gary Harvey
Jennifer Kassabian
January 25, 2021 (2021-01-25)
The gals are hired to discover who is responsible for the murders at a female fencing trial of Olympic hopefuls.
36
5
"Ghost in the Machine"
R.T. Thorne
Keri Ferencz
February 1, 2021 (2021-02-01)
While staying at Frankie's office, Nora is convinced she was visited by the ghost of a murdered woman. Persuaded to search the building, Frankie and Trudy are led to a shocking discovery.
37
6
"The Guilty Party"
R.T. Thorne
Carol Hay
February 8, 2021 (2021-02-08)
The team investigates whether a man acquitted of a grisly murder is indeed innocent or guilty.
38
7
"Life is a Cabaret"
Bosede Williams
Keri Ferencz & Sharron Matthews
February 15, 2021 (2021-02-15)
After witnessing a man's murder, Frankie's search for his lady-friend suspect leads her to an underground cabaret and surprising results.
39
8
"Sweet Justice"
Bosede Williams
Jennifer Kassabian & Robina Lord-Stafford
February 22, 2021 (2021-02-22)
When Trudy discovers that her new dream home has contaminated water, the gals investigate the source with help from nighttime vigilante, Lady Justice.
Mary looks into a morality violation by Rita Hart's modern dance troupe, but as a sudden illness begins striking down the members of the troupe, Frankie questions if they've brought the Spanish Flu to Toronto.
41
10
"A Family Affair"
Harvey Crossland
Jennifer Kassabian & Keri Ferencz
March 8, 2021 (2021-03-08)
Frankie's father reappears in her life, alive but in danger, with both Nora and Jack determined to be involved in Ned Drake's scheme. Mary risks her chances at becoming an official police officer by going on record to speak up against corruption in the police force, while Flo confronts her sister to protect her niece. Meanwhile, Trudy accepts a job at an insurance company only to discover her new employers are far more unscrupulous and dangerous than she realizes.
On April 5, 2018, the show was renewed for a second season.[7] On March 25, 2019, the show was renewed for a third season.[8] The third-season premiere was filmed in England, with Honeysuckle Weeks playing the role of British author Agatha Christie.[9] 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.[10]
In May 2020, an animated spinoff for kids called Mary and Flo On the Go! was reported as being in production;[11] the web series was released in March 2022.[12]
Broadcast
Alibi in the United Kingdom aired the second season starting January 21, 2019, with the third season aired in 2020.[13]Ovation in the United States aired seasons one and two back to back, beginning on June 15, 2019,[14][15] and started airing season three on April 4, 2020.[16] 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 Chantel Riley, Sharron Matthews, 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.[17] The show was further picked up in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.[18] In Greece the show airs in ERT3 under the title "Frankie Drake" (Φράνκι Ντρέικ) on Saturdays and Sundays at 20:00pm. The show was not so successful like Murdoch Mysteries (Ντετέκτιβ Μέρντοχ) in the past.
Home media
DVDs
Title
Region 1
Region 2
Region 4
Season One
May 8, 2018
May 9, 2018 (also Blu-ray, Region B locked)
June 27, 2018
Season Two
June 25, 2019
April 8, 2019 (also Blu-ray, Region B locked)
June 26, 2019
Season Three
September 8, 2020
April 6, 2020
N/A
Season Four
September 7, 2021
May 31, 2021 (also Blu-ray, Region B locked)
N/A
Reception
The series has received generally positive reviews from critics since its release.[19]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."[20]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."[5]
