'Murdoch Mysteries' Streams Historic 300th Episode

When Murdoch Mysteries was announced for Season 18, every press release made note that the new season would bring the series to a landmark milestone when it reached Episode 10, “The Men Who Sold the World”: 300 episodes. That may not sound so impressive in a world of streaming insanity, but with falling episode counts and shrinking numbers of seasons, this milestone is harder than ever for scripted series to reach. To date, 35 scripted, primetime English-language series can claim to have crossed the 300-episode mark, looking over both the U.S. and U.K. landscapes. With this week's installment, Murdoch Mysteries becomes #36.

The U.K. has the most scripted shows that have hit that milestone, which is unsurprising considering the early adoption of the BBC and the popularity of nighttime soap operas. Of them, the ones we cover are the ones you expect: Doctor Who.... and that's the only show we cover here that has run so long that it has crossed that milestone. So Murdoch Mysteries gets to be called the second-ever show we cover to run this long.

The milestone is a slightly bittersweet one, as, after 18 seasons, this is the first where one of the show's core four characters has been relegated to "Guest Star" status, Helene Joy, who has played Murdoch's partner and love of his life Dr. Julia Ogden since the show debuted. Her guest star turn is for this episode, with Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) making a special pilgrimage across the pond to visit her. But of course, it's not a day in the world of Murdoch without a murder.