I'm very glad I gave this show a chance because it's a lot of fun. I was concerned about other reviews saying it's not as good as The Murdoch Mysteries because I found the Murdoch episodes I watched to be painfully bad, but this show is much better. And comparisons to Miss Fisher Mysteries are unfair. Yes, they're both women in the 1920s solving mysteries, but the similarities end there. It's like saying Albert Campion is derivative of Lord Peter Wimsey because they're both male detectives in the 1930s.
It did take a few episodes for everything to click, but right from the start the actresses were engaging and interesting. Frankie is the calm center around which some lively characters spin. At times Lauren Lee Smith seems to underplay the part, but when Nora arrives, it makes for a stark and entertaining contrast in personalities. The writing gets better with each episode and I think the highlight of the first series is the episode with the WWI soldiers home and the gas masks. The final episode of the first series explores how Frankie and Trudy met and it was a lot of fun.
My only complaint is when they try to add real historic figures into the narrative. The guy who played Hemingway was terrible and boring and added nothing to the story. He should stick to print modeling. And the episode with Mack Sennett would have been better if it were a Mack Sennett type instead. The real-life figures hamper the ability to tell the stories creatively. Otherwise, the plots are enjoyable fun and a good way to spend some time in Corona lockdown. I would also like to point out to some reviewers who seem to want to mainly slag off American television. If you're going to be a bigot, at least get your target right. This show is CANADIAN, not American.
Frankie Drake is an amusing mystery series set in the past and I look forward to PBS airing series two and three.
It did take a few episodes for everything to click, but right from the start the actresses were engaging and interesting. Frankie is the calm center around which some lively characters spin. At times Lauren Lee Smith seems to underplay the part, but when Nora arrives, it makes for a stark and entertaining contrast in personalities. The writing gets better with each episode and I think the highlight of the first series is the episode with the WWI soldiers home and the gas masks. The final episode of the first series explores how Frankie and Trudy met and it was a lot of fun.
My only complaint is when they try to add real historic figures into the narrative. The guy who played Hemingway was terrible and boring and added nothing to the story. He should stick to print modeling. And the episode with Mack Sennett would have been better if it were a Mack Sennett type instead. The real-life figures hamper the ability to tell the stories creatively. Otherwise, the plots are enjoyable fun and a good way to spend some time in Corona lockdown. I would also like to point out to some reviewers who seem to want to mainly slag off American television. If you're going to be a bigot, at least get your target right. This show is CANADIAN, not American.
Frankie Drake is an amusing mystery series set in the past and I look forward to PBS airing series two and three.