The Republic of Doyle (2010 +)
IMDb meta-data is 78 episodes of 55 minutes each, rated 7.2 by 2888 cinematizens.
Genre: PI
Verdict: Location, location, location!
It has all the clichés of the genre cosmetically refreshed by the location among the goofie Newfies in St John’s Newfoundland. Anne of Green Gables, Joey Smallwood, and Annie Proulx are nowhere to be seen.
A wannabe Jim Rockford approaching forty and living at home with father, much to the annoyance of stepmother, is PI together with Dad. It is all by the numbers thereafter without the laconic charm of Rocky, but at least there is no annoying Angel on the scene. Out hero is unkempt, unshaved, and childish, a clear case of arrested development that appeals to its like. His private life is a mess and dominates his professional life as a PI. He drives an old banger. All boxes checked. It is easy to imagine the checklist in the screenwriters manual consulted for this project.
Still the setting in and around St John’s Newfoundland is distinctive and the cinematography makes the place look attractive. It’s not, but it looks that way on film. The soundtrack, for once, also adds something to the ambience.
Despite my quibbles it is one thing many Canadian film productions are not. It is Canadian. It looks and sounds it. Many Canadian productions are so deracinated for the international market that they are anonymous, e.g. Street Legal, Da Vinci’s Inquest, Traders,…. [so anonymous that they are forgotten].