[Warning: General spoilers ahead.]
Jason Priestley is back on Canadian TV tonight on Global TV’s Private Eyes, a new weekly series about Matt Shade, a retired hockey phenom who’s had a little trouble adapting to the real world that followed his stardom on the ice.
Now a (seemingly) single father of a teenage daughter who’s on the cusp of attending a very posh high school, he’s reached a fish or cut bait point in his life. When we meet him in the pilot episode, “The Code,” he’s in flagrante with someone else’s wife — so he’s a mess.
But then he pulls it together and is all banter and business as he tries to seal the deal for a young hockey protégé, whose success will also mean a career-making agent deal for him, too. All of that goes sideways when the kid drops on the ice and he’s spun into investigating what happened. That pairs him with independent PI Angie Everett, with whom professional and (sort of) personal sparks fly as he juggles home, business, and a potential new tangent in his life.
It’s a fast, fun hour that’s filmed — and most importantly, set — in Toronto and is an affectionate love letter to the city. It fills the void left by our much-loved Republic of Doyle in successfully marrying a procedural with a lighter family drama.
Priestley is very good as a guy who’s skated, literally and figuratively, in his life so far and realizes maybe he doesn’t want to do that anymore. Cindy Sampson is solid as Angie, who’s probably the first person with no frame of reference for Matt’s hockey stardom, so she’s taking him on the face value of who he seems to be now. You may recognize her from stints on shows like Rogue, Rookie Blue and Supernatural.
Jordyn Negri plays Matt’s daughter Juliet, fan favorites Ennis Esmer and Clé Bennett play Mazhari and Nolan, detective colleagues of Angie, and familiar face Barry Flatman plays Matt’s dad, Don.
The pedigree behind the scenes is familiar, too. Producers Shawn Piller and Lloyd Segan brought us Haven and The Dead Zone before that and Tassie Cameron was the creator of Rookie Blue.
The first season is 10 episodes. Private Eyes airs Thursdays at 9 e/p on Global TV, starting tonight. Here’s a sneak peek.
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