Reel Beach: Law & Order Toronto wins big at Canadian Screen Awards

By BERNIE FLETCHER

“This country has stories that should be told.”
Mike Downie

The Toronto film and television industry celebrated three big nights at the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards May 30 to June 1.

The music docuseries The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal (Prime Video) won seven honours.

For producer/director Mike Downie, a Beach resident, the story was a labour of love for his late brother Gord Downie, frontman for the Hip.

The Best Motion Picture Award went to the Toronto-lensed The Apprentice which also won for Best Actor (Sebastian Stan) and Best Supporting Actor (Jeremy Strong) in a drama.

Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent captured the Best Drama Series and Best Writing awards after leading with 20 nominations, including for Aden Young (Det.-Sgt. Graff) and Kathleen Munroe (Det.-Sgt. Bateman) as Best Lead Performances.

On awards night, Kiefer Sutherland gave a heartfelt tribute to his late father, the legendary actor Donald Sutherland. Kiefer grew up in Crescent Town with his mother, actor and activist Shirley Douglas, and his twin sister Rachel who happens to be an associate producer on Law & Order Toronto. All in the family!

The police procedural spin-off quickly became the No. 1 prime time drama in Canada. The third season is filming now in Toronto and camera wrap is on July 4.

While part of a long-running franchise, this series is a distinctly Canadian version with local stories written, produced and starring Canadians and inspired by real-life, high-profile Toronto cases “ripped from the headlines”.

Each episode draws inspiration from a real crime, reimagining it as a fictional investigation. There is the usual disclaimer that “the following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event”, but does anybody believe that? These are real-life personal tragedies for someone.

Some of the crimes are a bit too close to the bone, such as the case of a homeless man killed in a swarming attack or a random stabbing death in the PATH.

Last month the Bitter Pill episode mashed up the Science Centre controversy with the murders of a pharmaceutical CEO and his philanthropic wife in their own home. That 2017 case of Barry and Honey Sherman remains unsolved. If only killers could be captured in less than an hour.

One of the original Law & Order stars, Jill Hennessy, once busked on Toronto subways. That New York-set version recently name-checked novelist Alice Munro in a case of abuse.

Years ago Law & Order: Special Victims Unit aired an episode about a bank robber who confesses to murder on his death bed. That sounds a lot like the story of Edwin Boyd, the Danforth boy gone wrong whose father was a policeman at Station #10 on Main Street (now Centre 55).

One way the Toronto version sets itself apart from its American roots is in the attitudes of the police investigating crimes. The N.Y.P.D. cops are often chasing bad guys around streets and over roof-tops. These Toronto detectives are cerebral, more akin to Sherlock Holmes than Dirty Harry.

Quoting Latin, Shakespeare and Chaucer, Graff spins philosophical ideas like a professor. He says to a developer scheming to replace the Science Centre with condos: “You do plan on killing the soul of this area with this homage to mediocrity.”

One of Graff’s literary in-jokes was about the Royal York being “Brendan Behan’s favourite hotel”. The Irish playwright, who described himself as a “drinker with a writing problem”, was arrested at the Royal York in 1961 for drunk and disorderly conduct after assaulting security staff. Behan joked that he came to Toronto to drink “Canada Dry”. Last week the mayor gave him a gold chain and this week he got handcuffs.

Unlike most shows filmed here, in Law & Order Toronto the city plays itself, CN Tower and all.

This is very much a Toronto-centric series showing landmarks like Edwards Gardens, Union Station, Little India, Woodbine Beach, Cherry Beach, Rogers Centre and City Hall (with a cameo appearance from Mayor Olivia Chow).

One episode even dealt with the scandal of a crack-smoking mayor. Of course, any depiction of an actual person is purely coincidental! (This month Netflix has a documentary about Rob Ford titled Mayor of Mayhem.)

In a recent episode local resident and friend to Beach Metro Community News, Peter Keleghan plays a shady news anchor, maybe a nod to his role on The Newsroom. Keleghan excels at playing vain heels on shows like Seinfeld and Murdoch Mysteries.

Many great films have been inspired by true crimes: Johnny Belinda (1948), A Place in the Sun (1951), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), In Cold Blood (1967), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Chicago (2001), just to name a few.

Pamela Smart, the real-life subject of 1997’s To Die For (with scenes at Kew Gardens and St. John’s Norway Cemetery) recently confessed to her involvement in her husband’s murder.

Watch for Season 3 of Law & Order Toronto on City-TV early in 2026. Stay safe. We don’t want to see any Beachers depicted on any Law and Order!