Christmas cheer returns to Station House No. 4 once more with the second annual MURDOCH MYSTERIES holiday special, “Once Upon a Murdoch Christmas,” premiering Monday, December 12 at 8 p.m. (8:30NT) on CBC with an encore broadcast on Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25, at 5 p.m. (5:30NT). In the standalone two-hour special, Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) and Brackenreid (Thomas Craig) find their jobs at risk as they investigate a series of brazen robberies targeting Toronto’s wealthiest businessmen just days before Christmas. In keeping with the festive spirit, the special also includes a unique scripted integration with The Salvation Army, featuring the historic brand’s presence and message of giving written into the storyline. Commissioned by CBC and produced by Shaftesbury, “Once Upon a Murdoch Christmas” is written by Paul Aitken, Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci and directed by T.W. Peacocke.
It’s four days ‘til Christmas, and with no snow on the streets of Toronto, spirits are low until two bombastic businessmen barge into Station House No. 4 with a far-fetched story about a train robbery – a bandit is trying to steal Christmas! Murdoch (Bisson) is baffled but soon, more impossible robberies have him giving chase around the city. Crabtree (Jonny Harris) is convinced the bandit is based on his latest fictional hero but Brackenreid (Craig) dismisses this outlandish theory. Meanwhile, Constable Jackson (Kristian Bruun) forms a Station House No. 4 choir, but with only a few days to whip the singing constables into shape he begs Rebecca James (Mouna Traoré) for help. And Ogden (Hélène Joy) finds herself mysteriously spirited away after a family of children who need her help mistake her for a storybook heroine. Stories collide on Christmas Eve – and once again, Murdoch must find a way to pull off a Christmas miracle.
Nearly two million (1.969M) Canadians enjoyed the gift of last year’s inaugural two-hour holiday special, making it the highest-rated MURDOCH MYSTERIES ever. Overall, it reached 3.5 million Canadians – or 10% of the population – over the course of the two-hour broadcast.*
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 and for Season 10 to date.** Season 10 premiered October 10 on CBC, and is currently in production in Ontario until December 2016.
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. 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. Shaftesbury Sales Company and ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment hold worldwide distribution rights for the series.
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
-30-
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. We are Canada's trusted source of news, information and Canadian entertainment. Deeply rooted in communities all across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also provide international news and information from a uniquely Canadian perspective.
For more information including series synopses, press releases, hi-res images, video clips and bios, please visit the CBC Media Centre at cbc.ca/mediacentre. Follow CBC's publicity team on Twitter @CBC_Publicity.
About Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is an award-winning creator and producer of original content for television and digital platforms. Shaftesbury's slate includes 10 seasons of Murdoch Mysteries for CBC, UKTV, and ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment; David Shore's Houdini & Doyle for Sony Pictures Television, Corus Entertainment, ITV, and Fox; thriller series Slasher for Super Channel and NBCUniversal's Chiller; and Kids' CBC series The Moblees. Shaftesbury's digital 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/Smokebomb launched shift2, a branded entertainment agency that drives profitable engagement with millennials using scripted series, turning brands into executive producers.
*Source: Numeris TV Meter, Dec. 21, 2015, CBC Total, A2+, Mon 8-10pm, Total Canada, AMA & Reach, 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; Oct. 10 & 17 (confirmed data), Oct. 24 (unconfirmed data, but includes 7 days of playback), CBC Total, A2+, Mon. 8-9pm, Total Canada, AMA, generated by InfoSys+TV
For more information, please contact:
Tanya Koivusalo, entertainment publicist, CBC
416.205.6863
Meg Campbell, Publicist, Shaftesbury
416-363-1411 ext 163
Judy Lung, Director, Communications & Marketing, Shaftesbury
416-363-1411 ext 186
