The crime drama series shot on the Sunshine Coast earlier this year will have its television debut on Sept. 24.
Murder in a Small Town will unspool over an eight-episode season based on detective novels penned by Saskatchewan-born novelist Laurali Rose “Bunny” Wright.
More than 120 cast and crew members worked at locations around the southern Sunshine Coast during a five-month shoot that started in January. In excess of 400 locals auditioned for extra roles.
“I had some of the best times I’ve had on set during this show,” said Jason “Rowdy” Rody, a film industry professional who coordinated background action during the shoot.
Although the novels are set in Sechelt, location photography for the fictional small town took place in Gibsons. Series producer Nick Orchard explained that the proximity of ferry transportation influenced the switch in geography.
In Canada, the primetime series will air on Global, which is owned by the Corus Entertainment Network. The show was financed by the Fox network.
One of the show’s filming locations — the High Beam Dreams event venue in Gibsons — is set to host a community viewing party on Sept. 24.
“We’re really pleased to host the viewing party for Murder in a Small Town because we witnessed the positive benefits that the production brought to our community,” said Vineet Miglani, who together with his wife Nidhi Kamboj own and operate the popular live music and rental facility on Glassford Road. “Over 70 people have already responded to our online invitation to return to High Beam Dreams, where some of the show’s most memorable scenes were filmed.”
Miglani and Kamboj organized the viewing event in response to repeated requests. Admission will be by donation.
The TV series stars Rossif Sutherland as the brooding detective Karl Alberg. Sutherland is the son of Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, who was originally shortlisted to occupy the role of Alberg in an unsuccessful earlier attempt to develop Wright’s series for television. Vancouver-born actress Kristin Kreuk will play Cassandra Mitchell, Alberg’s love interest. Kreuk rose to prominence for her role as Lana Lang in the series Smallville, which aired in the early 2000s.
The supporting cast contains many BC film industry careerists. Jonathan Whitesell, a Duncan native whose appearance as a menacing teen in the X-Files series led to a career in show business, plays Riley Erlandson. Victoria-born actress and hip hop dancer Mya Lowe, whose resume includes the role of “Vixen #1” in the slow-burn drama Riverdale, portrays Alberg’s police partner Corporal Edwina Yen.
“The cast, the crew, the directors, everybody was just fantastic to work with,” said Coast resident Melissah Charboneau. Charboneau capitalized on her involvement as a regular Murder in a Small Town extra by engaging a professional agent and landing opportunities for further film and TV projects. She observed that Murder was a surprisingly straightforward way to enter the industry.
“I was actually speaking to Milan Cheylov, one of the directors, and saying to him how wonderful the whole crew has been, understanding that for the locals who were here working on set this was all new to us,” she recalled. “We were by no means professional actors and they were patient and they were understanding. They explained things to us, answered questions, and it was so wonderful.”
The show’s first airing will be the first half of a two-part episode titled “The Suspect,” directed by Milan Cheylov. Enthusiastic spectators can learn more about the community viewing party from the Facebook event accessible online via facebook.com/highbeamdreams.
