Not many television shows are able to air over ten seasons. Even less Canadian television shows get that opportunity. But Toronto based Murdoch Mysteries, with its successful combination of wit, romance, mystery, and originality, begins its 12th season Monday September 24th on CBC. Lead actors Yannick Bisson, the titular William Murdoch, and Hélène Joy, who plays Dr. Julia Ogden, took time from their hectic filming schedule to speak to us about the success of the show, their characters, and what’s to come.
Upon speaking to them, both Hélène Joy and Yannick Bisson are clever, well spoken, and passionate about their work. When asked what it’s like to be on such a long running TV series, Joy is very grateful, “It’s a very interesting feeling,” she says, “You never know it’s going to happen.” This is especially true for Canadian TV series, and Murdoch Mysteries has been consistently popular both in Canada and internationally. “It’s nice to know people are so enamoured with the characters,” Joy continues, “It feels so fulfilling.” Joy credits some of the success of the show to the high quality of writing. Being set at the turn of the century, this includes a lot of historical research, says Joy, “they go to great lengths to research things going on in Toronto at the time as well as all over the world,” and fans appreciate the effort. Alongside the historical research, the writing of the individual characters and their relationships has become deeper and stronger over the years, as well as the wit and comic elements of the show. Of course, the romance between Murdoch and Dr. Ogden is a huge draw; “Their great romance is a powerful and essential part of the show,” Joy states, “even to non-romantic audiences.” Bisson agrees that it has been an incredible experience—“at this point there are more episodes I haven’t seen than ones I’ve seen” he jokes—and is very thankful. “I have a second family,” he says, “and the show has now become a part of Canadian culture, which is amazing to see.” He also credits the success of the show to a variety of factors; “we don’t take ourselves too seriously, so we can play with comedy as well and drama and everything that comes with a murder mystery. Then there’s the historical aspect, being able to highlight history of our culture and city, the great cast…it’s a big blend of things.”
Joy’s character, Dr. Julia Ogden, has been through many life and career changes throughout the show, bringing fans on a true journey. “I’ve been really blessed to play a character with such breadth and depth,” Joy says, “she’s been true to herself with everything she’s been through…I’m blessed to play such a strong woman.” She explains that Dr. Ogden resonates with contemporary audiences still because “challenges for women are the same then and now…it’s an ongoing process of liberation within society as well as self-liberation. Ogden is always pushing forward to find truth and a voice.” She also notes that many young female fans have told her they look up to Julia, “what young girls look up to about Julia is that they can aspire to be her and look up to her and it’s not all about her having sex or sexuality—not that she’s not a sexy woman!—but it’s different and young women find this refreshing.” Bisson describes William Murdoch as “a tough nut to crack” but over the seasons his eyes have been opened to different layers of humans. “At the beginning he was a staunch catholic and really held to his beliefs,” Bisson says, “but as he meets different kinds of people and different points of view it’s softened him…all this crime hasn’t hardened him. He still has a kind of optimism and a positive view of mankind.” He also speaks about Murdoch’s relationship with Dr. Ogden, and how while for the first several seasons they were constantly kept apart by different circumstances, the challenge now is keeping things interesting; “there’s a whole new area now to explore and to keep the romance alive,” he says, “the two of them always somehow meet together…they both have so much curiosity for different aspects of life.”
Discussing the upcoming season, Joy isn’t sure how much she can give away. “At the end of the last season people were left feeling things were a bit dire, but we’re not going to carry on in that way, they aren’t the kind of people to dwell,” she says carefully, “It’s a year of new beginnings, of pushing upwards and onward.” Joy does give a few hints, such as that Dr. Ogden is moving into the field of surgery, and that some already established characters will be more fleshed out, “the writers have done a lot to make them more dynamic.” Bisson gives a few more details, including a very famous Canadian comedian coming back, more inventions, and “possibly the advent of television…but won’t be quite what you expect.” He also discusses learning more about established characters as they get their own highlight episodes (hint: “someone has a child we don’t know about”) and we get to see characters who formed Murdoch at an early age.
In the future, Joy would love to see more about the women’s movement, including seeing the British Suffragettes come to visit. She would love to see some reference to the early Canadian female doctors that Dr. Ogden is partially based on, Emily Stowe and Jennie K Trout. Bisson has found the whole show a real lesson in history to him, such as learning how many people and inventions were Canadian, about the Toronto Fire and the Canadian automotive industry, and what famous rich families vacationed here at the time. Bisson also enjoys episodes that allow him to travel and highlight new parts of the country, “It’s nice to get out of our comfort zone,” he explains.
Being a period piece, the fashion on the show is quite different than what we are used to seeing on TV today, and beautiful to look at. “It transforms you physically when you step into those clothes,” Joy says, “People forget you’re really modern and have skin! But it also transforms you…the way they covered up and held their bodies and the formal way they sit and walk has such an effect on you.” The show has a “wonderful new designer” this year, and Joy is enjoying being more involved with fashion and colour choices. “There’s some sexy choices this year,” she laughs, “well, sexy choices within 1905.” While men’s clothing from the turn of the century are less drastically different than women’s, Bisson still finds wearing them a different experience; “It’s a physical challenge for me because of the heat…we shoot in the summer and wearing a wool jacket and wool pants and leather shoes…it’s really tough.” He’s still admiring of the costume department, referencing a great character from France who will be in one of the spy episodes from the upcoming season; “I saw the concept art for her outfit, and then she came in and seeing it in real life was mind-blowing.”
Outside of Murdoch Mysteries, both Joy and Bisson are always working and always on the go. “I’ll be shooting a feature next year, and I’m co-producer on that film as well. It couldn’t be more different from the show, there’s a ridiculous of nudity,” Joy laughs, “It’s by a Montreal based director and writer. There’s a few other projects I’m trying to develop as well.” Bisson has some interesting upcoming projects as well. “There’s a couple of businesses I’ve become involved with, a group of restaurants, there will be announcements about that soon. I’m really excited about that,” he reveals, “I also have a potential multi-movie deal coming up…can’t say exactly yet.” They are all sure to be worth looking out for.
