'Frankie Drake Mysteries' to Conclude with Season 4

Lauren Lee Smith and Chantel Riley in "Frankie Drake Mysteries". (Photo: CBC)

It's official: Canadian series Frankie Drake Mysteries will not return for a fifth season. The female-led period mystery is currently airing its fourth - and now final - season in Canada and the U.K., but the CBC has opted not to pick up the series beyond that point. 

The series follows the story of the titular Frankie Drake (Lauren Lee Smith) and her partner Trudy Clarke (Chantel Riley), who are two halves of the first female detective agency in 1920s Toronto. The show has a vaguely Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries vibe, but it's set in Canada and the fashions aren't quite as on point.  

The two female leads are often aided by Toronto police’s morality officer, Mary Shaw (Rebecca Liddiard), and morgue attendant Flo Chakowitz (Sharron Matthews). Though the series is called Frankie Drake, the show is really focused on the relationships among this group of four different women, who take on the cases that the police don’t want to touch. In a time of change and hopefulness, their gender is their biggest advantage as they defy expectations and rebel against convention. 

The CBC announced the cancelation news with a cast video on their Instagram. 

        View this post on Instagram                      

A post shared by Frankie Drake Mysteries (@cbcfrankiedrake)

 

“We can confirm that Frankie Drake Mysteries will not be continuing beyond this season,” said Christina Jennings, founder, chairman, and CEO of Shaftesbury and Frankie Drake Mysteries executive producer. “We would like to thank the incredible cast and crew, and the fans for all of the love and support over the past four years. We are so proud of this show and look forward to sharing the final two episodes.”

Cable network Ovation aired the first three seasons of the Canadian series and it will likely air the fourth and final year, but a premiere date has not been set. The first three seasons are also available to PBS Passport members via the PBS Video App. 

Are you sad to see the end of Frankie Drake Mysteries? Sound off in the comments.


Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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