Learn more about the new Canadian Audible Original, The Secret Diaries of Detective Murdoch
“My name is Detective Murdoch, of the Toronto Constabulary. These are the personal diaries I have kept since 1895.”
These lines begin each episode of the new Canadian Audible Original series, . However, the introduction soon reveals another side of him: a complex emotional and intellectual inner-life that needs to be expressed.
The famous detective may have trouble wearing his heart on his sleeve around his peers, but unlike the TV show, in the privacy of his personal diaries, he doesn’t hold back.
Welcome to the World of Murdoch
Detective William Murdoch is Canada’s most celebrated fictional detective – the Sherlock Holmes of the True North. But while he calls Canada home, the character has fans across the globe. For 13 seasons (soon to be 14,) fans of CBC’s hit Victorian-era TV series, Murdoch Mysteries, have followed Murdoch through numerous investigations, personal tribulations and relationships.
Now, Audible Canada is thrilled to announce a new title in its slate: the 10-part series, The Secret Diaries of Detective Murdoch. For the first time, fans and newcomers alike will get a glimpse of Canada’s most famous fictional sleuth as they’ve never seen him before.
A must-listen for fans of Murdoch Mysteries, as well as lovers of , the new Canadian Audible Original series offers listeners a front-row seat to the famously reserved detective's thoughts and feelings. The diary entries, written during or just after some of his most famous cases and significant life events, go into great detail about his complex family relationships and conflicted faith, his loving devotion and stinging heartaches. And, of course, the cases themselves.
To celebrate the release, we’ve put together this article: part introduction, part teaser of the new series (we don’t want to spoil it all for you). Here, you’ll find everything you need to know before you crack open the diaries. Who is Murdoch? What will the new diaries reveal about the famously close-to-the-chest detective? And who’s the man behind the badge, Yannick Bisson?
Coif your hair, tighten your tie and don your Toronto Constabulary badge – we’re heading into the mind of Murdoch!
Who Is Detective Murdoch?
Buttoned-down, tight-lipped, unfailingly logical, with a mind like a steel trap and a knack for deduction: William Murdoch is, in many ways, the perfect detective. But the same qualities that make him fantastic at solving crimes also make it hard for him to connect with people emotionally.
The character was inspired by real-life Toronto detective John Wilson Murray, whose 1904 book “Memoirs of a Great Detective” caught the eye of creator, Maureen Jennings. While Murray and Murdoch share a few things in common (a fondness for scientific method, a dogged determination to sniff out the truth) Murdoch is a character unto himself now. A fully realized detective with 13 TV seasons and 10 audio episodes of backstory behind him.