With Law & Order spinoff, Toronto finally gets its big break — as itself

Fans of crime procedurals take note: Canada's Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, a spinoff of the popular U.S. franchise debuts Feb. 22.

The series, which has Canadian directors and is shot in Canada, stars actors Kathleen Munroe, Aden Young and Karen Robinson (Of Schitt's Creek fame.)

Executive producer Erin Haskett says the show has been in the works for years, but it took some convincing that it could be done on budget with Canadian talent. Rogers calls the show its "biggest investment in Canadian original programming" to date.

She says that within the many franchises produced by Dick Wolf, there are numerous Canadian directors working on episodes of shows like FBI and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

"And also, you look at the cast and there's a lot of Canadians there," Haskett said. "So I think, in a way, they knew we had the talent pool."

The 10-episode series pulls its weekly stories from Canadian headlines and was shot across the GTA, including at an Etobicoke soundstage that recreated Toronto Police Service headquarters, a morgue, an apartment, legal offices and more.

"Our first episode, we were shooting in Little India. We were shooting in Chinatown. We were shooting at the Yacht Club," said Munroe, who plays Detective Sergeant Frankie Bateman. 

Canadian Sharon Lewis has directed episodes of Law & Order: Organized Crime and was tapped to direct an episode of the Toronto series this year. 

She says there are a few big differences between the Law & Order shows based in New York and the one in Toronto.

"Toronto crews are much warmer, but it's the guns. Guns — just less guns in Toronto, less stories that are centred around guns," said Lewis. "It's that we're a softer, kinder city, I think, than the more abrasive New York."

That Canadian sensibility is reflected in scripts, as well, Lewis said, adding the show isn't looking to glorify officers breaking down doors.

"As a Black woman, I was like, 'How am I gonna navigate this Law & Order sort of thing, given everything that's gone on with police sensitivity?' I think that's what's changed in the scripts," she said. "There's a sensitivity to navigate how police interact and what they look like."

Aside from fewer guns and a more sensitive depiction of policing, fans should expect the same things they always find in Law & Order franchises: sharp dialogue, two partners with good chemistry, familiar crime stories (usually with a twist) and a lesson about the ins and outs of the justice system.

Munroe's character, Bateman, is a by-the-books detective paired with Young's Detective Sergeant Henry Graff, who's more interested in why people do things than the legal process. Robinson plays their boss, Inspector Vivienne Holness.