Detective William Murdoch has solved many cases during more than 200 episodes on air. But one of the trickiest may lie ahead: navigating production in the era of COVID-19.

Murdoch Mysteries is now in production on its 14th season, producer Shaftesbury confirmed Tuesday, making it the first of a raft of CBC scripted series returning to set in Ontario after the production shutdown in March.

Over the coming six weeks, Frankie Drake Mysteries season four, Coroner season three, Lady Dicks and Tallyboyz season two are all expected to follow suit. Production on Murdoch is scheduled to wrap in mid-November, with new episodes premiering on CBC TV and CBC Gem in winter 2021.

While the previous seven season of the series have run to 18 or 19 episodes, CBC has unsurprisingly reduced the order to 11 episodes for the upcoming season, as producers and broadcasters deal with myriad COVID-era challenges including increased production costs and lengthier per-episode shooting times, not to mention the fact production is starting almost three months later than it typically would. 

Lead actor Yannick Bisson returns to the director’s chair to helm two episodes this season, with Peter Mitchell, Gary Harvey, Warren Sonoda, Mina Shum and Ruba Nadda also directing.

In addition to Frankie Drake, which is expected to go to camera in early September, Shaftesbury is already in production on Hudson & Rex in St. John’s, N.L. This week, news emerged that a cast member had tested positive for COVID-19, in addition to a crew member. Filming was cancelled on Sunday (Aug. 9) while producers Pope Productions and Shaftesbury addressed the issue, with filming resuming the following day.

Murdoch Mysteries is produced by Shaftesbury for CBC and UKTV, with Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie and showrunner Peter Mitchell serving as executive producers. Producers are Stephen Montgomery and Julie Lacey. ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment handles global distribution.

Image courtesy of Darren Goldstein/Shaftesbury