How 'Murdoch Mysteries' Season 17 Pulled Off a Musical Episode

The Big Picture

• Season 17 of Murdoch Mysteries will feature a musical episode, "Why Is Everybody Singing?" premiering in March and April.
• The musical episode incorporates songs as clues in an intriguing mystery with a comatose Murdoch trying to solve his own attempted murder.
• The episode features the main cast singing and promises to be a classic Murdoch episode with a twist for fans to enjoy.

For a staggering 17 seasons, Canadian procedural drama Murdoch Mysteries has kept audiences captivated and tuned into the crimes solved by Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) and the rest of the Constabulary in turn-of-the-century Toronto. And while the series has touched on many classics of long-running television — weddings, Christmas specials — and some less classic stories — who could forget the alien episode? — there's one staple of the procedural genre they have yet to check off the list: the musical episode. That will all change when Season 17, Episode 22, "Why Is Everybody Singing?" premieres March 25 in Canada and April 6 in the U.S.

But how does one incorporate a musical episode into a series that is so firmly grounded in reality (one-off Halloween episodes about aliens notwithstanding)? For writer Paul Aiken, it all boils down to how the songs are incorporated into the episode:

"The idea for the Murdoch Musical was born 30 seconds into the Buffy Musical episode. The challenge was to do it as a genuine mystery. The essential concept: A comatose Murdoch needs to determine who tried to kill him was strong and allowed for all manner of philosophical hijinks, but it was insufficient. The music itself needed to be a clue. Having the singing be his injured brain's way of processing what was actually being said over his bed solved two problems. It made the music an integral feature of the plot and allowed for the introduction of new information - always handy when telling a mystery.

But there was another problem. How to introduce a wheel of suspects and a villain when Murdoch is comatose for almost the entire episode. An attempt in Season 13 to introduce the suspects by way of a song that summarized an existing investigation proved inadequate, and introducing a villain at the end felt dramatically unsatisfying . This was ultimately resolved by basing the crime itself on an unresolved mystery from a previous season. The villain was known to the audience and the motive could be established by means of a single flashback. Everything else could be introduced in a short preliminary sequence... and of course the songs themselves."

What Is 'Murdoch Mysteries' Musical Episode About?

The official synopsis for "Why Is Everybody Singing?" reads:

While pursuing a missing man now presumed dead, Murdoch takes a call that alters his perception of the world. After heading into a lively alley, he’s shot in the head and left for dead. Crabtree and Higgins find him with the faintest pulse clinging to life. As Brackenreid, Ogden, Watts and Hart rush to the scene and the constables question a newsboy, beggar, vendors and other witnesses, Murdoch hears their inquiries in song. The musical accounts swoop and soar, confounding the detective who can’t understand why everyone around him is singing instead of focusing on who shot him.

Star Yannick Bisson, who has led the series since the beginning, admits to some early skepticism at the idea of Murdoch going musical, but later came around on the idea once it started coming together, saying:

"Preserving the integrity of the show has always been super important to me so when there was talk of doing a musical episode, it was no secret that I had reservations. Having Paul Aitken, our writer, as an ally for so many years and having been in the musical trenches before with Laurie as a director, I felt confident to proceed. All my worrying was for nothing though - the end result is nothing short of spectacular!”

Director Laurie Lynd also assures fans that the episode is "classic Murdoch," adding:

"A musical episode of Murdoch Mysteries seemed wonderfully inevitable: Hélène Joy (Dr. Ogden) had long wanted to do a musical episode, as had our Executive Producers, Christina Jennings and Peter Mitchell, and most importantly, as did our writer, lyricist and composer - Paul Aitken.

The final push is thanks to fans of the show, who have consistently said a musical episode is something they would most love to see. The script that Paul Aitken wrote is so clever because it is still at heart a classic Murdoch episode, a puzzling case to be solved that is not at all what it first appears to be. The great joy of the episode, of course, is seeing - and hearing! - our favourite Murdoch characters sing. All of the cast did their own singing, beautifully elevating the emotions of what their characters were expressing."

In addition to Bisson, the series stars Hélène Joy as Dr. Julia Ogden, Thomas Craig as Inspector Brackenried, Jonny Harris as Constable George Crabtree, Daniel Maslany as Detective Watts, and Lachlan Murdoch as Constable Henry Higgens. The musical episode is also set to feature guest appearances from Colin Mochrie and Sharron Matthews.

Murdoch Mysteries Season 17, Episode 22, "Why Is Everybody Singing?" premieres March 25 on CBC in Canada, and April 6 on Ovation TV in the U.S. Past seasons are streaming on Prime Video in the U.S. Take a closer look at images from the episode above and below.

Murdoch Mysteries

In the 1890s, William Murdoch uses radical forensic techniques for the time, including fingerprinting and trace evidence, to solve some of the city's most gruesome murders.

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