A retooled CBC dramedy Republic of Doyle has started production in St. John’s, NL. after an earlier half-hour pilot.

Content-wise, the series will retain comic elements, but become more of an investigative crime drama as a mid-season one-hour for the CBC.

Cast changes for the 12 x 60-minute series include Irish actor Sean McGinley (Bleak House, Braveheart) coming on board in the role of Malachy Doyle, a gumshoe detective and father to his business partner Jake Doyle, played by series creator and Newfoundland native Allan Hawco.

The ensemble cast includes Lynda Boyd as Malachy Doyle’s girlfriend, as Jake Doyle’s tempestuous ex-wife and Krystin Pellerin plays his love-interest. Marthe Bernard will play Malachy’s rebellious teenage granddaughter, while Mark O’Brien appears as an apprentice investigator.

Malcolm MacRury co-wrote the pilot, but is replaced on the series as showrunner by Denis McGrath (The Border, Across the River to Motor City). That move, supported by the CBC series producers, follows MacRury shifting to another of his series, Lawyers, Guns and Money from Whizbang Films, after it was greenlit by Global Television.

From Playback Daily