'Murdoch Mysteries' Season 18 Readies Its Return To Canada

Canada's longest-running, most-watched period mystery series, Murdoch Mysteries, is preparing to return to the Canadian airwaves in the fall of 2024 for its 18th season. One of the last bastions of linear September-May TV scheduling left that falls within our purview, the series still airs 22 episodes a year. Though it doesn't run on that schedule in the U.S. (the old-fashioned nature also means there's nearly a six-month gap between an episode's first run in Canada and when it can legally stream on other networks), Ovation and Acorn TV's choice to air and stream the series in the U.S. as a weekly show has helped raise its popularity profile in the States. It helps that, unlike many long-running shows, the core foursome at the heart of the cast has stuck with the show for almost two decades and counting, giving fans a sense of having grown up with them.

However, the series has also not been afraid to change with the times, modernizing as a period drama as society demanded it. When the show first debuted in 2008 and mainly directly adapted stories from the Detective Murdoch series by Maureen Jennings, it was an all-white affair, as were most period dramas at the time. However, with the rising demand for diversity, it has made some attempts in recent seasons to add Black and Asian characters, including Mouna Traoré (The Umbrella Academy) as Rebecca James (Seasons 9-12) and Shanice Banton (Reviving Ophelia), who currently plays Violet Hart. However, those have constantly been recurring roles, not lead ones.

That's why it's such a big deal that Season 18 is adding Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Kim's Convenience) to the roster, the first topline character to join the show since Georgina Reilly's Dr. Emily Grace was promoted in Season 7 after recurring since Season 5. (Reilly exited the series after Season 9.) Sun-Hyung Lee joins the series as Murdoch's new boss, Inspector Albert Choi, who will lead Station House #4. The role marks his first foray into the world of period drama, and hopefully, his character will continue on the show for many years to come.

Here's the Season 18 synopsis:

Murdoch Mysteries is set in Toronto in the early 1900s, during the age of invention, where Detective William Murdoch enlists innovative forensic techniques to solve some of the city’s most perplexing murders. Season 18 is full of 'Murdochian' delights: a murder at a Charles Dickens convention; Murdoch acting as a bodyguard for a silent film star and thrown into a cinematic adventure himself; foiling a theft of the world's largest ruby; proving the veracity of a "Missing Link" skull found in Milton, Ontario; and a holiday episode celebrating the "misfits" and singletons. Episodes that root mysteries in the social issues of the time are also explored: a worker's strike at a factory; an early instance of low-income housing; competing public hydro projects; and immigrants trying to purchase land in the 'paradise' of the wilds of Canada. Finally, the milestone 300th episode will feature Detective Murdoch visiting the UK to see his wife, Dr. Julia Ogden, as they celebrate their wedding anniversary. 

As always, Yannick Bisson stars as the titular detective, William Murdoch, Hélène Joy as Dr. Julia Ogden, Thomas Craig as Inspector Thomas Brackenreid, and Jonny Harris as Constable George Crabtree. Other returnees from the previous seasons include Daniel Maslany as Detective Watts and Lachlan Murdoch as Constable Henry Higgens, Arwen Humphreys as Margaret Brackenreid, Clare McConnell as Crown Attorney Effie Newsome-Crabtree, and Shanice Banton as Chief Coroner Violet Hart. Siobhan Murphy (The Sisterhood) returns for Season 18 as Ruth Newsome, the only guest star confirmed so far.

Murdoch Mysteries Season 18 premieres on CBC Gem linear on Monday, September 30, 2024, with episodes streaming one week prior for subscribers. The series is expected to come south to the U.S. on Acorn TV and Ovation in February 2025.