UKTV to bring the Frankie Drake Mysteries to Alibi

UKTV is to co-produce a crime drama series, Frankie Drake Mysteries, for its premium channel Alibi.

“We are thrilled to be extending our relationship with Shaftesbury. Murdoch Mysteries is one of Alibi’s most-loved series, so we are delighted to be working together again. We are so excited to bring the vibrant world of Frankie Drake’s 1920s Toronto to the UK.” – Alexandra Finlay, UKTV’s head of acquisitions

The drama, The Frankie Drake Mysteries, is set in 1920s Toronto is produced by Shaftesbury in association with CBC. The series stars Lauren Lee Smith as Private Investigator Frankie Drake and Chantel Riley as Trudy, her associate at Drake Private Detectives. Guest stars include British actor Laurence Fox as Frankie’s confidante Greg Miller. Frankie Drake Mysteries will air on Alibi in 2018.

The Drake Private Detective Agency is Toronto’s only female private detective agency. The team take on the cases the police do not want. In a time of change, their gender is their biggest advantage as they defy expectations and rebel against convention. The Drake Private Detectives take on cases that explore neighbourhoods from gospel church choirs, the early cinema scene to private parties of the city’s elite. Frankie and Trudy’s fearless sense of adventure get them into all kinds of trouble, but they always manage to find a way out. They are new detectives for a new world – but is the world ready for them?

Frankie has come back from the war to work as a private detective with her partner Trudy and a network of associates, from Mary who works in the police station as a Morality Officer, to Flo who works in the morgue. We are going to see women fighting crime and fighting the system – a lot of action and a lot of fun.”

Created by Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci, who also serve as executive producers, Frankie Drake Mysteries is executive produced by Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, and Cal Coons, who is also showrunner, and produced by Jonathan Hackett. Frankie Drake Mysteries is developed and produced by Shaftesbury in association with CBC and UKTV, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit, the Cogeco Program Development Fund, and the Bell Fund. Content Media is the global distributor of the series.

Together with Shaftesbury, UKTV also produce Murdoch Mysteries which made its UK premiere in 2008.

“This is an excellent new addition to Alibi’s growing slate of exciting new content. Frankie Drake Mysteries is a brilliant new detective series that fits perfectly with our premium crime dramas. Dynamic characters, action and adventure around every corner, this will definitely appeal to Alibi fans.” – Adrian Wills, general manager of Alibi