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㽶ƵֱLaw and Order Toronto㽶Ƶֱ showrunners feeling the pressure on multiple fronts

American TV staple reaches north for new show focused on Canada㽶Ƶֱs largest city
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Cast members (left to right) Karen Robinson, Aden Young, Kathleen Munroe, and K.C. Collins pose for a photo at a press junket as they promote the television series 㽶ƵֱLaw & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent㽶Ƶֱ in Toronto on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Nobody wants to be the person who mucked up the 㽶ƵֱLaw & Order㽶Ƶֱ franchise.

It㽶Ƶֱs a fear that㽶Ƶֱs haunted veteran procedural writer Tassie Cameron since she embarked on the most daunting responsibility of her career: turning Dick Wolf㽶Ƶֱs beloved legal drama into the new Canadian spinoff 㽶ƵֱLaw & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent.㽶Ƶֱ

Despite years of experience writing on 㽶ƵֱRookie Blue,㽶Ƶֱ 㽶ƵֱPretty Hard Cases㽶Ƶֱ and 㽶ƵֱMary Kills People,㽶Ƶֱ she quivers at the responsibility she holds as the show㽶Ƶֱs Thursday broadcast premiere approaches.

㽶ƵֱI think we all feel a tremendous amount of pressure not to let down Toronto (or) Canada 㽶Ƶֱ it㽶Ƶֱs horrifying,㽶Ƶֱ the showrunner said.

㽶ƵֱPeople have such embedded expectations about the show because almost everybody㽶Ƶֱs watched it and has feelings.

㽶ƵֱYou don㽶Ƶֱt want to disappoint the franchise holders in the States, but you don㽶Ƶֱt want to disappoint your country. And it starts to feel big like that. I know that sounds ridiculous.㽶Ƶֱ

Sitting alongside fellow executive producer Erin Haskett at their production office, the pair are discussing how far they㽶Ƶֱve come in only a few months.

It㽶Ƶֱs December of last year and the Canadian production has one shooting day in the whirlwind season, which came together on tight timelines as the dual Hollywood writer and actor strikes halted many other films and TV series.

㽶ƵֱThe show got greenlit the first week of June, with one script,㽶Ƶֱ Haskett said.

㽶ƵֱThen it was like, oh my God, we need nine more,㽶Ƶֱ added Cameron.

㽶ƵֱSo I was calling writers (asking,) 㽶ƵֱIs anybody available tomorrow to sit in a room with me for two weeks to start writing this thing?㽶Ƶֱ

㽶ƵֱLaw & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent,㽶Ƶֱ a co-production between Rogers㽶Ƶֱ media division and Vancouver-based Lark Productions, was filming on the streets of Toronto before the end of August, Haskett noted.

㽶ƵֱAnd it㽶Ƶֱs been (working) night and day pretty much since then,㽶Ƶֱ she added.

The show follows detectives Henry Graff, played by Aden Young, and Frankie Bateman, played by Kathleen Munroe, as they investigate high-profile homicides in Canada㽶Ƶֱs largest city.

The cases featured on the show are ripped from the headlines and inspired by real-life criminal investigations.

The show㽶Ƶֱs leading cast also includes Karen Robinson as inspector Vivienne Holness, and K.C. Collins as deputy crown attorney Theo Forrester.

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