'Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent' scripts are so gripping, the cast couldn't put them down
Aden Young, Kathleen Munroe, Karen Robinson and K.C. Collins tease how real cases will inspire each episode of the Citytv series
The famed Law & Order franchise now has a Canadian spinoff with the premiere of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (premiering Feb. 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Citytv), starring Aden Young, Kathleen Munroe, Karen Robinson and K.C. Collins.
Inspired by real Canadian events, Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent follows Detective Sergeant Henry Graff (Young) and Detective Sergeant Frankie Bateman (Munroe) as they try to solve cases around the city throughout the 10-episode season, reporting to Inspector Vivienne Holness (Robinson).
Watch Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent by subscribing to Citytv+ on Prime Video with a 7-day free trial, then $4.99/month
'I think Graff is one of the really great characters of Law & Order'
Much like the U.S. Law & Order franchise, the partnership between Graff and Bateman is core to the series.
"We spent more time together over four months than I've spent with most human beings over the course of many, many years," Munroe told Yahoo Canada. "We were working together every day on the show, and so the dynamic of two people who were really kind of in the thick of it, working through some stuff like that, that all felt very real."
"In terms of the characters, it was such fun to play off of him because he comes in with such a really amazingly beautiful specificity, a lot of humour, a lot of heart. ... To me, I think Graff is one of the really great characters of Law & Order, because there's real character there, and it still serves the franchise in all the ways that you'd hoped it would. I think Bateman's kind of the straight man sometimes to Graff and it's a joy."
Young, who was born in Toronto before moving to Australia, highlighted that having known Munroe before Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, he was confident the dynamic between their two characters would work.
"I remember getting a call that Kathleen was coming in and I immediately went, 'Well I think the deal's already sealed,' because we share a similar sense of humour, which is the first thing you need when you're working those hours, and you're working those schedules," Young said. "But secondly, she brought a wonderful cohesiveness to her idea of the duo that I was able to help build into my character, and into our relationship."
"When another actor can bring that, to inspire you every day, it's a real joy."
'You're not going to know necessarily who did what'
While much is still unknown about the real life cases that have inspired each episode of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, the first episode of the series is based on the mysterious death of Gerald Cotten, who was the CEO of QuadrigaCX, Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange.
When Cotten was reported dead, details of the extent of his Ponzi scheme continued to come to light, and only he could access QudrigaCX's funds, no password was left for anyone else. That left $215 million dollars in cash and cryptocurrency from the company's clients missing.
In Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, the company is Bigaplex and the co-founder disappeared amid significant tensions with his clients, fellow co-founder and wife.
But Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent will keep surprising its audience, even people particularly familiar with the source material. Each episode has its own fictional twist on what really happened.
In the first episode, this Bigaplex case is wrapped up a lot differently than the questions that still surround Cotten, including if he is in fact dead.
"The beginning of the episode, you're going to see elements in it and go, 'Oh, I know exactly what this is,' and I think the fun of participating in these headlines is going to be substantial," Munroe said. But then also, you're going to still be taken on a ride, you're not going to know necessarily who did what, even if you're familiar with the case."
"I remember we'd be shooting and reading the episodes while we were going, and we'd be sitting on set reading and they'd call us in and I was like, 'I can't. Just one second, I've got to get to the end!' ... The writing was really gripping."
For K.C. Collins, who plays Deputy Crown Attorney Theo Forrester (the legal advisor Graff and Bateman regularly need), the actor wasn't particularly aware of a lot of these cases, so he very much felt like a "fan" reading the scripts.
"Interestingly enough, I am not a news watcher, so all these stories were fresh to me," Collins said. "So I'm reading the scripts and ... the shock intensifies."
"I had a blast reading the scripts. I knew nothing about what was going on. I think I might have caught one story, ... and even the story that I caught there was a twist at the end that I had no idea about. I was a fan. I was not an actor reading scripts, I was a fan reading the scripts."
'I know we're in trusted hands'
For Karen Robinson, the Canadian icon who has famously been featured on shows like Schitt's Creek, she can feel the particular interest in and fandom for a Canadian extension of a famed TV franchise.
"Seeing how people, especially the people in my life who really don't care, usually, that I'm an actor, seeing them get excited about this, like my 93-year-old father, ... he knew about it," Robinson shared. "And that's when I knew that this was bigger than me."
"What this does is it brings you back to ... the actual stories in their time. I know from my perspective, when these stories actually happened, if I was angry or sad or bewildered or whatever, it took me right back to what I was feeling in the time."
Watch Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent by subscribing to Citytv+ on Prime Video with a 7-day free trial, then $4.99/month
There's always a question with procedurals, specifically when inspired by real life events, if a show can effectively walk the line between pulling from reality to create captivating entertainment, and exploiting the tragedy of these cases.
Collins and Robinson both stressed that very much wasn't the feeling from Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, under showrunner Tassie Cameron, who worked on shows like Rookie Blue and Pretty Hard Cases.
"You're talking about people who are so caring, that there will never be the risk of exploitation," Collins said. "So I know we're in trusted hands, we trust them to the fullest."
