“You Know This Isn’t a Competition, Right? But I Totally Nailed It.”
Somewhere over the last couple of years, I learned about the show Private Eyes. Talk about coming to a show years late. In my defense, when the show premiered in 2016, it was only airing on Canadian stations. It aired here in the states on Ion, a station I don’t follow too closely. Anyway, I was curious about it, especially with a spin-off coming this fall. So when I got a free year of Hallmark+, which currently has it streaming, I decided to give it a chance.
The show introduces us to Matt Shade (Jason Priestley), a former professional hockey player now trying to manage promising new hockey players. When one of his clients falls sick during try outs under suspicious circumstances, Matt takes his father’s advice and teams up with private investigator Angie Everett (Cindy Sampson) to find out what happened. Matt is so taken with Angie that he decides to become a private investigator as well, with Angie as his new partner. It takes a little convincing, but eventually, Angie begins to come around. Rounding out the main cast are Matt’s dad, Don (Barry Flatman) and Matt’s daughter, Jules (Jordyn Negri). Oh, and Jules just happens to be blind. In most episodes, we also have a couple of regular police officers, Derek Nolan (ClĂ© Bennett) and Kurtis Mazhari (Ennis Esmer).
This season was only ten episodes. As Matt begins to grasp his new job, the duo takes on a murder in the local restaurant scene. They search for a missing prized race horse. They try to help Angie’s friend who was robbed after attending a speed dating event. They try to find a magician who vanished from police custody. And Angie works to find a jewel thief who hit her cousin’s wedding.
I mentioned earlier that this is a Canadian production. It is filmed in Toronto, and set there as well. I find that fun while watching since it’s so rare something is set where it is filmed.
The show is fairly low budget, and that comes across as you watch. That’s not to say it is bad, but it isn’t quite as polished as most shows you’d watch.
The mysteries themselves are solid. They keep me entertained as I watch even if I happen to pick up on something early. Things make sense when we reach the end.
They are obviously setting things up to have a romantic relationship between Angie and Matt, although we haven’t gotten there yet. Honestly, I’m not picking up too much on “undeniable” chemistry between the two of them, but I often don’t early on in a series. Still, I am enjoying watching their friendship grow, and I also enjoy the banter between them.
Angie doesn’t have a lot of supporting characters in her life outside of the two cops we interact with. She has just lost her father, which explains part of that. I do like Don and Jules as they help flesh out Matt. We even get to meet Matt’s ex-wife, Becca (Nicole de Boer).
The cast is also good. Yes, a few of the guest stars are a little weak, but the main cast brings their characters to life well.
Having said all of this, it did take me a few episodes to fully mesh with the characters and the world they live in. But by the end of these ten episodes, I was really looking forward to visiting them again.
The show may be a little low budget, but the charm of the characters draws you in. I’m glad I gave season 1 a chance and am looking forward to continuing on with Private Eyes.
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