The Spencer Sisters is a Canadian drama television series that premiered January 29, 2023 on CTV.[1] The series stars Lea Thompson and Stacey Farber as Victoria and Darby Spencer, respectively; a mother and daughter duo who are thrust into investigating crimes in their home town of Alder Bluffs.[2] In May 2024, the series was cancelled after one season.[3]

The Spencer Sisters
Genre
Created byAlan McCullough
StarringLea Thompson
Stacey Farber
ComposersRyan McLarnon and Rob Melamed
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Production locationsWinnipeg, Manitoba
Production companieseOne Canada
Buffalo Gal
Original release
NetworkCTV
ReleaseJanuary 29 (2023-01-29) –
April 21, 2023 (2023-04-21)

Premise

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When her daughter Darby unexpectedly returns home (having resigned from her career as a police officer in protest of being overlooked), famed mystery novelist Victoria Spencer decides to finally pursue her dream of being a private detective. The two women form the Spencer Sisters Detective Agency (capitalizing on the fact that Victoria is often mistaken for Darby's sister as opposed to her mother) and start tackling a variety of cases in the fictional town of Alder Bluffs.

Cast and characters

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Main

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  • Lea Thompson as Victoria Spencer, a famous writer of mystery novels and owner of the Spencer Sisters Detective Agency
  • Stacey Farber as Darby Spencer, Victoria's daughter, a former cop, and co-owner of the Spencer Sisters Detective Agency

Recurring

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  • Thomas Antony Olajide as Zane Graham, Darby’s best friend from high school and an officer with the Alder Bluffs Police Department
  • Edward Ruttle as Dr. Lucas Collins, Darby’s high school flame
  • Husein Madhavji as Alastair Dhumal, Victoria's "IT Consultant" (a.k.a. hacker)
  • Ayesha Mansur Gonsalves as Sarita Stark, Victoria's feisty literary agent
  • Rodrigo Massa as Antonio Pereira, Zane's husband
  • Kaitlyn Leeb as Lindsay Yip, a hotshot lawyer who is Lucas' fiancée
  • Adam Hurtig as the chief of detectives for the Alder Bluffs Police Department

Guest appearances by Samuel Wexler, Paul Popowich, Andrew Bushell, Cindy Sampson, Seán Cullen, Matt Wells, Alex Ozerov, Jennifer Hui, Nancy Sorel, Mercedes Morris, Julius Cho, Mika Amonsen, Daniel Kash, Paul Essiembre, Tova Epp, Zarrin Darnell-Martin, Hazel and Joel Baez Silvestre.[1]

Episodes

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No.Title [4]Directed byWritten byOriginal air date [4]
1"The Scholar's Snafu"April MullenAlan McCulloughJanuary 29, 2023 (2023-01-29)
2"The Executive's Elegy"April MullenJessie GabeFebruary 17, 2023 (2023-02-17)
3"The Coder's Calamity"David WellingtonJennica HarperFebruary 24, 2023 (2023-02-24)
4"The Restauranteur's Ruin"David WellingtonJenn EngelsMarch 3, 2023 (2023-03-03)
5"The Decorator's Debacle"Joyce WongEvany RosenMarch 10, 2023 (2023-03-10)
6"The Winemaker's Woe"Joyce WongNathalie YounglaiMarch 17, 2023 (2023-03-17)
7"The Lawyer's Lament"Melanie OrrJason Ip & Rosa LabordeMarch 24, 2023 (2023-03-24)
8"The Virtuoso's Vexation"Melanie OrrJennica HarperMarch 31, 2023 (2023-03-31)
9"The Diva's Disaster"Douglas MitchellJenn EngelsApril 14, 2023 (2023-04-14)
10"The Runaway's Regret"Amanda TappingAlan McCulloughApril 21, 2023 (2023-04-21)

Production

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Filming

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The series was shot in summer 2022 in various locations in southern Manitoba including Winnipeg. At least one episode was partially filmed in Dundas, Ontario.[5]

International broadcast

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On May 11, 2023, it was announced that The CW Network picked up the series for the fall 2023 lineup.[6] It premiered on October 4, 2023.[7]

On October 13, 2023, it was announced that the show was licensed to Warner Bros. Discovery in France, NBCUniversal in Germany, Japan’s Wowow, Disney (Middle East and Portugal), Play Media (Belgium), TV Joj (Slovakia) and Tet/Telia (Baltics).[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Matthew Almeida, "Solving Cases by the Book. CTV Original Series THE SPENCER SISTERS Premieres Feb. 10 on CTV". Bell Media, January 13, 2023.
  2. ^ Jesse Whittock, "Lea Thompson And Stacey Farber To Lead Lighthearted CTV And eOne Procedural ‘The Spencer Sisters’ As Mother And Daughter". Deadline Hollywood, July 22, 2022.
  3. ^ Kimball, Trevor (2024-05-16). "The Spencer Sisters: Cancelled; No Season Two for Canadian Drama Series on The CW". canceled + renewed TV shows, ratings - TV Series Finale. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  4. ^ a b "The Spencer Sisters – Listings". Zap2it. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  5. ^ Dan Vadeboncoeur, "New Lea Thompson TV show brings film jobs to Manitoba". CTV News Winnipeg, August 22, 2022.
  6. ^ "The CW Buys Lea Thompson Canadian Drama 'The Spencer Sisters' for Fall Lineup as Scripted Strategy Becomes Clearer". 11 May 2023.
  7. ^ Gelman, Vlada (July 12, 2023). "The CW Unveils Fall Premiere Dates for FBoy Island's Return, Sullivan's Crossing and More Imports". TVLine. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  8. ^ "WBD France, NBCU Germany, Japan's Wowow buy eOne drama Spencer Sisters".
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