Is Strange Empire good enough to save the CBC?
The CBC’s new feminist western is as gripping and gritty as any premium cable drama. But can it help reverse the beleaguered broadcaster’s fortunes?
The new series Strange Empire is a richly produced western set in 1869 on the unkempt Alberta terrain. It kicks off with a dark, propulsive premise: when the men in a small frontier camp are mysteriously slaughtered, their once-helpless wives and daughters are forced to buck up and take control. Every shot is a swirl of artfully dusty browns and tans, every costume and set piece a bedraggled beauty. The plots are full of brothels, sex and violence. The show bears every trademark of a premium cable drama, with morally ambiguous characters and an irreverent point of view. The strangest thing about Strange Empire? It’s on the CBC.
And it arrives at a pivotal moment for the public broadcaster. Last year, the CBC lost Hockey Night in Canada after the NHL negotiated a $5.2-billion deal with Rogers that awarded the telecom giant exclusive national and digital rights. Not only had HNIC been a ratings titan, attracting an average of 1.7 million viewers per game, but it also regularly brought in $200 million worth of ads—up to half of the CBC’s annual revenue. To compensate, the network was forced to slash more than 650 jobs and $130 million from its budgets. Even before the loss of HNIC, the CBC’s ratings were slipping: in 2012, viewership plummeted by more than 40 per cent. The situation is so dire that in September, a team of CBC executives told the CRTC that the network could no longer afford to be free. Jean-Pierre Blais, the regulator’s chairman, volleyed back a challenge: would Canadians, many of whom see access to the CBC as a constitutional right, ever be willing to pay for the public broadcaster?
Right now, the answer is a resounding no—not because Canadians feel unduly entitled to free CBC, as Blais suggests, but because the network has rarely produced content worth paying for. Its lineups are a relic of an era where most households owned a single TV set rather than a suite of personalized screens. The blanket programming directive on every network was to appease as many age, wealth and regional brackets as possible. The CBC, in thrall to taxpayers and its own conservatism, has continued to produce pleasantly geriatric titles like Heartland, a simpering drama about horse whispering, and Murdoch Mysteries, a tea-and-crumpets detective procedural set in Victorian Toronto. These shows are blandly sweet and innocuous, but have never hit critical mass—they’re background TV, not appointment TV.
Today’s audiences have been spoiled by Shakespearean dramas like Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, shows that have spawned an online water cooler culture, where viewers live-tweet and hashtag shows while they’re watching. The so-called second-screen market will be worth up to $255 billion by 2017, as brands pull their ad dollars out of networks and pour them into promoted tweets, banners and videos on social media sites and streaming apps.
In its desperate throes, the CBC is trying to cash in on the buzz machine—and with Strange Empire, they’re finally targeting those sophisticated new viewers. The series comes from Laurie Finstad Knizhnik, the showrunner whose smart, disturbing murder mystery Durham County aired on the Movie Network from 2007 to 2010, outpacing the TV serial killer trend by three years. Last year, she began developing Strange Empire with Jeff Sagansky, a former executive at CBS and Sony Entertainment, and one of the suits responsible for The Cosby Show, Cheers and St. Elsewhere.
Sagansky suggested they pitch their western to the CBC, but Finstad Knizhnik wasn’t sure the network’s safe, sanitized lineup was the right fit. “I try to write realistically, to use the drama in the best possible way to serve the idea. I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to represent the violence and sexuality,” she explains. She agreed to give it a try anyway. It turns out the CBC brass loved the idea—and they were willing to take the risks necessary to realize her moody, sometimes graphic vision. They approved every controversial detail. “I don’t feel constrained at all,” she says. “I would be perfectly happy to submit any of these scripts to a premium cable network.” The CBC has also signed off on two more cinematic cable-style dramas: Camp X, a spy thriller shooting in Budapest, and an adaptation of Lawrence Hill’s novel The Book of Negroes, which will air in January.
Strange Empire is set on the border between Alberta and Montana, an area that travelling settlers called Whoop-Up Country for its illicit whiskey market. In 1869, it was less a physical boundary than a political contrivance, a fuzzy division that existed only on maps. The region was lawless, unprotected by any police force or political institution. The RCMP wouldn’t be formed for another 35 years, and the white frontierspeople, Métis and Blackfoot tribes stoked a violent atmosphere of racial and colonial strain. Finstad Knizhnik immersed herself in diaries, letters and histories of the period to navigate the knotty relationships between competing factions. She’s out to spin a Canadian myth, documenting a hostility between Aboriginal people and Europeans that feels both primitive and disarmingly modern.
She’s also hoping to reinvent a genre. The last time the Gunsmoke-style western got a makeover was in 2004, when the gleefully profane David Milch drama Deadwood premiered on HBO. Just as that series was a product of its time—a testosterone-jacked tableau of amoral anti-heroes—Strange Empire typifies its own TV landscape, one dominated by gutsy women and complex female friendships. Finstad Knizhnik applies that trend to the old-fashioned western, excising the macho cowboys and ranchers and empowering female characters—women of colour, no less—to take on new agency. She’s positioned them as entrepreneurs, leaders and warriors who must balance self-defence with moral responsibility in an environment without male protection. In a way, the show has more in common with Orange Is the New Black than Deadwood, trapping its women in an isolated feminist dystopia where they have to create their own power hierarchies and alliances. By commissioning the series, the CBC has made an audacious statement: that Canadian television can have as much cultural cachet and artistic merit as our literature and music.
They just need to convince the viewers. At the CRTC hearings last September, the CBC begged the regulator to turn off their free signals so they could charge distributors like Rogers and Bell for including CBC in basic cable packages—a cost that would inevitably trickle down to cable subscribers. To Canadians, the idea of paying for a public broadcaster sounds ludicrous, but it’s not so radical an idea. We’re used to paying for good content, whether on premium cable, Netflix or Amazon Prime. In countries like Denmark and the U.K., anyone who owns a television set pays the government a licensing fee that provides their public broadcasters with a healthy piggy bank for quality programming. In return, Denmark’s DR and the U.K.’s BBC are providing their viewers with some of the finest series on the planet—on DR, the political drama Borgen and the original iteration of The Killing; on the BBC, critically beloved series like Sherlock, Doctor Who and The Fall. These countries—and their audiences—have invested in television as a cultural institution; their shows make for terrific entertainment, but they’re also national monuments, works of art that say something about the country’s character, history and future. Strange Empire is operating with the same mission statement. Maybe, if it succeeds, the CBC will finally be a network worth paying for.
TELEVISION
Strange Empire
CBC
Mondays at 9 p.m.
I thought it was bad storytelling. Beautifully shot, but all flash and no substance. I wasn’t interested in what was happening at all, and it all felt random and disjointed. I was disappointed in that I loved Durham County, but I didn’t get at all the same sense that the writers even knew what story they were trying to tell. It may get better. I may not be bothered to give it a second chance though.
In contrast, Murdoch Mysteries and Heartland (and disclaimer – I don’t watch either but I do know people who are avid fans of each) are both proven success stories for CBC, and both are absolutely the opposite of what the author describes. Both are appointment viewing for their new episodes, and both serve the CBC’s mission statement to tell Canadian stories. Strange Empire may turn out to do that as well, in a different genre. But the author should remain objective with the current successes the CBC has, rather than impart her own personal opinions of the shows that have dedicated audiences and a deserved place on the broadcaster’s schedule.
I think the CBC should make shows of different tones and appeal to different audiences. A public broadcaster has that freedom, to appeal to all walks of the public. As long as what they make is of quality, which is the hardest part.
I’ve never watched either Murdoch Mysteries or Heartland, and have no idea how they do on CBC ratings-wise, but my understanding is closer to Martha’s. I’d heard that both had pretty passionate fans, and sold really well internationally.
Hashtag #MurdochMysteries seems pretty popular.
#iloveheartland seems a little less so, although that’s perhaps reflective of the target audience average age.
This article is everything that’s BS about Canadian TV coverage. “Can Program X save the CBC” is a ridiculous, reductive, impossible, click bait headline. Can Gotham Save Fox? Can Scorpion save CBS? Can Better Call Saul save AMC?
You would never read that headline. Every show is the piece of a puzzle. If you put the weight or survival of an entire industry on one program, it can’t help but come up short.
Can one article of decent, smart TV coverage save Toronto Life? I guess we don’t find that out this month. That’s for DAMN sure.
I love Murdoch Mysteries – I find it so charming, and you do learn some things. I used to like Heartland too, but it got kind of “what new disaster can we inflict upon these people next?” I did watch Strange Empire and was quite surprised at the level of violence for the CBC. I think it has potential and I’ll definitely tune in next week. For me, a show has to have very strong character development – it can’t just be all shock factor and swiftly moving plots. That’s what shows like the Killing and Sherlock do so well in the midst of their plots.
i love the Murdoch Mysteries and it is extremely popular in the UK.
I don’t know who you are but you have not watched our show. You can criticize us for what we are but not for what we aren’t. I have stayed away from engaging with critic and journalists for almost 25 years but you characterization of Murdoch is so wrong it can’t go unremarked on
Peter Mitchell
It’s a good show. Keep up the good work.
Hey Peter. Keep up the good work. I’m English and I certainly see it as appointment TV. There are many fans around the planet
I wonder if the person who wrote this article has ever even watched Murdoch Mysteries or spoken to any of the show’s fans? I am an avid fan and, while I may drink tea on occasion, I assure you that I have never eaten crumpets. It’s this type of slip-shod journalism that continues to plague Canadian programs. Does the author know that there are several fan-created Facebook pages dedicated to, not only the show as a whole, but various characters and the actors who portray them? Does he/she know that there are events throughout the year, put on by fans, that are extremely well attended and usually sold out? Does he/she know that there is one fan who based her thesis on Murdoch Mysteries? Do they know that one fan travelled from the US this past summer just to attend a Murdoch Mysteries event and to connect with other fans of the show? Do they know that there will be a Murdoch Mysteries fan event early in the new year in the UK? How about the fact that the show has an international audience? Is it too much to ask that an excellent Canadian show get the respect it deserves? And, finally, one last question: Is one poorly researched article enough to save Toronto Life?
I think the majority of the Canadian population has not watched a CBC TV show since Mr. Dressup in the 1970’s. At least the people that I know. Except perhaps Hockey Night in Canada and that’s gone now too.
I don’t know who wrote this article but the knowledge is non existing about the greatest timeperiode tv show around Murdoch Mysteries. It’s loved all over the world for the great cast and crew, amazing writers and producers that use actually historical happenings into a greate technical format fit for young and old. I belive the writer better take a closer look and then a big apologi is in order to all people involved in the produksjon and to fans all over the world for writing sutch an article without doing proper research.
I teach a Western genre class at the college level and my students will be learning about this CDN-focused (and CDN-produced) series. I thought the first episode was strong, with a good set-up of narrative arcs for development. The approach and characters are quite singular, given the current TV (and mainstream Western genre) landscape.
I also write about the genre at http://westernsreboot.com/ and posted a review of the first episode if interested:
http://westernsreboot.com/2014/10/08/strange-empire-on-cbc-first-episode-review/
Cheers,
Chad
As a viewer of Murdoch Mysteries, I feel strongly that I need to speak out on behalf of the show that I watch every single day. I say this not as a “fan” defending my favourite show, but as a Canadian television viewer who very carefully and purposefully selects how I choose to spend my time.
Everything about the show exemplifies high quality. From the amazing actors who make us care about the characters who we have seen grow and develop for eight years, to the writing which makes us laugh and cry. The writing is witty and smart, and the production itself is crisp and clean with incredible attention to detail.
It is one thing to give a show a poor review, but check your facts please. Murdoch Mysteries is one of the highest rated tv shows in Canada, and also does extremely well in many countries throughout the world.
As for the demographics, I am certainly not anywhere near geriatric and neither is the show. Never had tea and crumpets myself and cannot recall many times the characters have either. Kudos to CBC, the cast, and crew of Murdoch Mysteries. 8 years young and still going strong.
I am not usually one to respond to things like this but felt to strongly about this to stay quite. I have been a fan of Murdoch Mysteries since it first started, it is an amazing show. Like many fans I can re-watch episodes, and so look forwards to the new one. I can’t wait to see what will happen next and where these characters will be taken. As for it not being appointment TV there are a lot of people that would strongly disagree. There was so excitement building about Monday’s episode from us in Canada that got to watch it, and so many other from other parts of the world that don’t get the new episodes tell later dates that were jealous. One of the best thinks the CBC did was save this show, and now that it is on CBC it just seems to be getting better and building even more of a fan base. This is just one fans opinion but i’m sure i’m not alone.
“…national monuments, works of art that say something about the country’s character, history and future.” | That description easily fits Murdoch Mysteries. It’s one of those series that gets into you and stays with you, eliciting quite a level of interest and pride in Canada; from Canadians as well as those outside of the country.
“…have never hit critical mass—they’re background TV, not appointment TV.” | There are largely successful Murdoch Mysteries Fan Conventions that have gone on 3 years now, which attract fans from both hemispheres, held in Canada and the UK. What has sprung from and what Murdoch Mysteries has become is awesome in the old sense of the word (and that’s the only way old fits the description of Murdoch Mysteries).
It’s fanbase spans multiple types/ages (myself being a young adult).
I agree with those who have commented before me. A less-than-favourable opinion of a series is one thing. Everyone has different tastes. Mixed reviews are expected and accepted, generally. But it seems a page needs to be taken out of Murdoch Mysteries’ book, here, because your conclusion is lacking evidence.
On that note, whether or not an article says it, I will:
Murdoch Mysteries, those behind it, thank you for your endless efforts and diligence in bringing this smart & uniquely Canadian series to our screens. You’re stellar & deserve all the positives that come back to you.
Applause & Best Wishes On~
Where to start. .. I’m not
geriatric by any means, but I do love crumpets they are delicious, a staple in
many households… not unlike Murdoch Mysteries.
I have to admit, I have never seen Heartland, but I have many friends who love
it, & guess what they aren’t geriatric either. Because I don’t watch this
show, I don’t have any specifics to defend it, but it doesn’t mean I think its
crap, it just means since I primarily work evenings, it hasn’t caught my
attention.
“Appointment television”… I am a full time college student, I work
hard at my education, I am easily on the Dean’s list every semester, & and
did I spend my Monday night doing? I put down my homework, & proceeded to
watch Murdoch Mysteries in every time zone with friends in every province in
the country. I mean ya, I did eventually watch Strange Empire, but it was
mostly back ground noise, It looks like it has the potential to be very good,
personally I don’t see it yet, but as it has only been one episode I’m willing
to give it the benefit of the doubt. I have 3 appointment shows, 2 of them are
on the CBC, Murdoch Mysteries, and Republic of Doyle (which is sadly going into
its last season), and the other one is American and doesn’t need to be named.
“Never hit critical mass”, there’s so much wrong with that statement.
I have to go with Techra Tronical on this one. The fan based Facebook pages,
for the show as a whole, current season, each of the core cast members, &
regular guest stars. The world of Murdoch Mysteries as already thankfully
avoided cancellation once before, because people DO love this show.
The fans based events, let’s see,
this summer alone I came down to your lovely city to tour the Murdoch set and
met some of the cast. (People from all over the world flew in for this weekend,
Australia, Italy, England, Just to name a few, never mind the fans that came up
from the states). I also attended fanexpo… I spent the whole day in line with
fans some were even in cosplay… as members of the Murdoch cast. This one girl
made her outfit herself; Corset and all. As I was walking down the hallway and
saw her in the distance all I could think was “OMG…. It’s Julia”. I
got giddy just from seeing her. I spent several hours in line to get autographs
and the interview panel, the cast I met that day were all things wonderful, I
could go on & on just talking about how amazing every one of them were.
Since the episode Murdoch Ahoy aired last year I have since visited the SS
Keewatin (with about 25 other Murdoch fans) this is a wonderful piece of
history that I never would have known about without Murdoch incorporating this
ship into its history. this ship is not only the last steam ship of its kind in
Canada, but one of the last few of its kind in the world. The interest in
history that Murdoch Mysteries encourages is tremendous. But it’s not Canadian
only knowledge. I have had the pleasure to meet many people through Facebook
from the states, and the things they saw they have learned about our culture,
history, and who we are as a nation is something that shouldn’t be
underestimated.
But I digress, there are many people, and the number continues to grow, who are
simply tired of the constant reality …crap… on television today. I know I
am. If it’s not reality, its glorified violence that dominates most American
based television, it’s absolutely horrible, and we are systematically
desensitizing our children to violence, gore and swearing. Murdoch Mysteries is
a show about murder and death, but does it in a way that if your child walks
into the room, isn’t going to be seeing things that they shouldn’t be seeing. Yes,
there is a level of … I like to call it innocence… to the show, that is what
makes this show so completely powerful especially in today’s world where
everything is so blatant, this show has more subtle nuances. Guess what, there’s
absolutely NOTHING wrong with that.
“Viewers live tweeting”… let’s see Murdoch Mysteries was trending
for almost an hour and a half on Monday night during the Season 8 premier
(Toronto time). It beat out hashtags like #thewalkingdeadmarathon &
#hockeynight as well as #Toronto & #Canada. I would say that’s pretty darn
good.
“they just need to convince
the viewers” … that one just makes me laugh out loud, keep in mind this
show you have such high hopes for, oh ya it’s on RIGHT AFTER Murdoch Mysteries,
so chances are really good, that a significant portion of the initial viewers
of this show are going to be watching it AFTER Murdoch Mysteries.
The writers of Murdoch Mysteries have
done, and continue to do an incredible job every week, year after year of
dealing with modern issues in an old school way. The era this fantastic and
fascinating show is set in is one of the most interesting times in our history
which this show easily brings to life. They have done an absolutely fantastic
job bringing this wonderful world to us. Personally I just want to say Thank
You to each and every person connected to this show in every way. Murdoch
Mysteries wouldn’t be the show we all love without every one of you doing
exactly what you do each and every day.
Murdoch Mysteries is eagerly anticipated world-wide. What other “main
stream” show can say that?
Totaly agree with you full credit to all involved in the best show around and also the people at the office taking good care of us fans every day.
You have obviously never seen Murdoch Mysteries and are not aware it’s also seen on the Alibi UKTV as well as many other places around the world. Can most shows say that? Murdoch Mysteries is not ‘a tea-and-crumpets detective procedural’ it is a well written show with a well rounded cast of actors who never cease to amaze their viewers with their abilities. This show leads Monday night viewing with it’s interesting and intricate stories with lots of background of the characters to make the viewers love them and invest in them. The characters become like family to the viewers because of the tender loving care to the show given by the other writers, and the two Jennings the original creator of the books who checks in and adds her two cents, Maureen Jennings, and her daughter Christina producer and writer who started Shaftesbury Films. This show is the reason I tune into CBC it is must see television, to many other people who tune in every Monday night and set records for CBC.
An excerpt by Emily Landau’s above review/article, “Murdoch Mysteries, a tea-and-crumpets detective procedural set in Victorian Toronto. These shows are blandly sweet and innocuous, but have never hit critical mass—they’re background TV, not appointment TV.”
REALLY? Is it really “background TV” when #MurdochMysteries was the No. 1 most tweeted hashtag nearly every Monday an episode is broadcast? Is it really “background TV” when the series is broadcast around the world? Is it really “background TV” when when it has spawned its own fanbase and its fan appreciation convention specifically for the TV series IN TWO COUNTRIES, NOT INCLUDING cast appearances to FanEx? Did Emily Landau even WATCH the series before making such a broad and uninformed generalization and opinion?
I’m not a “tea and crumpet old bat”. And neither are any of the fans of this series. I say we flood her email/twitter account with fan letters showing our appreciation for the series.
Sheesh. If Emily Landau wants to be critical, she should have said that it was CityTV who had relegated Murdoch Mysteries as “background TV” because of their inconsistent broadcasting schedule and lack of proper marketing and promotion. It was the CBC who saved the series from cancellation and have brought it to the forefront of Canadian TV.
correction I’ve been told though I read somewhere that they were mother and daughter that isn’t true they are not related.Christina and Maureen just have the same last name.but the comment still stands they both work hard to keep this show interesting and I love the historical references and characters they add to this show.
Ms. Landau may not be making appointments to watch Murdoch Mysteries, but a lot of other people do!
And what is this about “tea and crumpets”? This is where I think the title of Murdoch Mysteries confuses people and makes them lump it in with all those other staid British historical mysteries. I’ve never seen one damned crumpet on Murdoch Mysteries! And the pacing is that of an American police procedural, not a British parlor mystery.
And what is this “sweet and innocuous” stuff? Murdoch Mysteries may tell its stories with a light touch on the surface, but those stories are certainly not innocuous. Beneath that cellophane and candy coating, there is much nouget to chew over. The jabs beneath the Victorian hypocrisy drive deep. The secrets fester. The true feelings can never be communicated. The show doesn’t shy away from issues like abortion, homosexuality, racism, political corruption, and, most recently, police brutality. So what if the stories are told in a way that allows my Mom to watch or children to watch as well? Murdoch Mysteries would be appointment TV if reviewers bothered to watch and appreciate it instead of dismissing it out of hand as a “tea and crumpets” show.
This makes me so mad. Murdoch Mysteries really needs some good reviewers. Not in Toronto, where plenty of people write it up, but at the International level, where the reviews could support its recent syndication.
Ps. I’m an American viewer who goes out of my way to see new episodes of Murdoch Mysteries.
Please do not make comments about programs you have not watched.
You and many others have expressed my feelings exactly. And I will add my voice to others saying thank you to you and the rest of the crew of Murdoch for keeping us well entertained and educated all these years. Perhaps as an “in joke” you could have Murdoch and Brackenreid having tea and crumpets next season, just before the Inspector breaks out the whisky to celebrate the latest case.
Your outrage may be better suited for topics that are actually outrageous. Everything doesn’t qualify as a travesty.
And your also flat-out wrong, by the way. One single show can be the symbol of a changing tide within a network, a new focus, and (hopefully, in this case) a sign of what’s to come in its future.
Or are you saying that The Sopranos didn’t change the face of HBO? Breaking Bad & Mad Men for AMC? The Simpsons for FOX? If you replaced a portion of your ire with cogent thought, you may come up with a good point… one day.
There’s nothing wrong with Murdoch Mysteries, but as the author noted (and you quoted), it hardly qualifies as a work of art, or appointment viewing. You may really enjoy it, and many others could as well (as you suggest), but you can’t honestly put it up there in the same category as brilliant, game-changing shows such as Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Sopranos, The Leftovers, The Affair, etc., etc.
I actually do believe Murdoch Mysteries fits in the “brilliant” department, but same category, different, one all it’s own…that’s subjective. I could say the same back that Ms. Landau may have really felt something from ‘Strange Empire’, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into it being something grander, either.
The difference of opinion isn’t the matter. It’s the ignoring of facts. Many others *do* enjoy Murdoch Mysteries in a way beyond it being simply a show, and that’s a known fact; at least, one that isn’t hard to present.
I guess what we’re all looking for are the “qualifications” for “appointment viewing” and “work of art”. Murdoch Mysteries fits under Ms. Landau’s explanation for a series to “…say something about the country’s character, history and future”. It not only says something, but as aforementioned it elicits pride in country, as well as inspires one to delve into history and think forwardly. But I digress. The evidence has been presented. Whatever definition “appointment viewing” may have, I’m certain Murdoch Mysteries would fit.
Murdoch – great. Strange Empire – great idea. Lead acting? – not so great. Her lack of acting ability actually takes me OUT of the show on numerous occasions. It is very apparent she was only hired because she had all that press in Toronto last year and there are no “names” for the show to ride off of. Politics. It’s a shame, because the show is doing a great job showing more of a true reflection of our country’s diversity.
Our family looks forward to Murdock Mysteries. even our teens. Heartland is still watched but it’s turning into a soap opera, We have watched Empire and find it not appropriate for the teens, The storylines are unexciting and un-educational or entertaining. We refuse to watch any more. Monday night is CBC and Murdock Mysteries, it has everything, humour, suspense, intrigue, action, delightful and wholesome characters mixed in with the criminal element of the time. So many learning opportunities, researching a historical character or invention or place, for example. Our teens come home from school on Mondays and say, Mom, it’s Murdoch night! We are anxious to see what will happen this week. I think it is so cool that they shoot scenes at places around our Province, like at the Keewatin a Victorian Ship from the time period, sitting at Port McNicoll and used as a museum, or the Steam Train at Tottenham among many locations. There are a few flashbacks but the series is available to watch from the beginning, however not necessary. Fans like to watch the repeats on TV over and over. MM has a following all over the world, and this family are huge fans!!!
I was about to pounce on this with outrage but I scrolled down first and I’m happy to see that others have preceded me. But I’m happy to pile on anyway. It’s clear that the author of this piece has never seen Murdoch Mysteries. If she had she may be gratified to learn that CBC has at least one show that is appointment viewing, and it isn’t Strange Empire. I also loved Breaking Bad and The Sopranos (and The Wire and Deadwood) and I would not hesitate to include Murdoch Mysteries among them. What makes all of these shows special is their ability to engage, entertain, surprise and occasionally overwhelm us. all of these shows are different from each other and every show ever made. Murdoch, like them, is completely unique. No other show would even attempt to let alone succeed in riding the line between dorky and cool so effortlessly. It has goofy charm and lacerating wit in equal measure. And though I would challenge anyone to define what Murdoch Mysteries is (every episode is so distinct,) Murdoch Mysteries knows EXACTLY what it is. Every week it reinvents itself yet somehow remains true to itself. Murdoch recently celebrated it’s 100 episode. At some point it will pass from the scene. But I think it will be seen in retrospect as perhaps the greatest show this country has produced. And it will remain in people’s minds long after Strange Empire is a forgotten discard.
Certainly entertaining, but oh so predictable.
Men bad, women good. White people bad, indians good. Christians bad, everyone else good. Capitalism bad, everything else good.
In other words, typical CBC.
Actually, “Can Better Call save AMC?”-style headlines certainly do exist, in-line with the fact that the channel is about to have no prestige shows left and be stuck with just The Walking Dead — which does well, but does not give its brand the same shimmer that a Breaking Bad or Mad Men style program does.
Well David, it’s nice to see that you’ve successfully defined the boundaries of what constitutes “cogent thought,” your comment’s evidence to the contrary.
In the race between easy, lazy generalization and post-pop hindsight analysis, this article is the horse that came up lame before getting to the starting gate.
Did Sopranos change the face of HBO? No, it did not. Oh I know that’s the pop interpretation. But OZ & Sex in the City both preceded it, were bigger risks and had no precedents. Even something goofy like Dream On, slight as it was, helped push HBO toward a place where people would take projects like the Sopranos there. So no, one series there didn’t “change everything.” Unless you actually, you know, skim the Coles notes rather than read the history.
On the AMC side, the history isn’t even what you think it is. AMC managed to develop two shows that gave it great cachet. Mad Men, then Breaking Bad — and it’s nice to hindsight BB as visionary from the start but it’s a shortened WGA strike Season 1 that gave it the breathing room to survive.
Post those two shows, AMC decided it knew better than everyone else, and believed its own press. It lucked further into a franchise show that it owned with Walking Dead. But it also instituted bad-talent relations programs with its talent, and dropped several expensive and unimpressive turds. Now it’s in the position where, lo and behold, it’s banking on a sequel for its next hit. Very daring.
The problem with ridiculous, reductive claptrap like this article and your secret-decoder ring theory of TV development is, of course, in the real world there are many incremental steps that lead to success — even if later the mythology pushes one to ID a turning point as “this is where it changed.”
The people who ID those changing points, as you have, have the benefit of doing so in hindsight. The problem is life, and TV development, happens in real time.
You’re not as clever as you think you are. And the article is still reductive, clickbaity horseshit.
I love this show. I live in NY and I have watched every episode!!!!!