Frankie Drake Mysteries Review: Mother of Pearl (Season 1 Episode 1)

Some people might argue that we’re all full up on procedurals and detectives on the small screen these days. But Frankie Drake Mysteries Season 1 Episode 1, “Mother of Pearl” offers a welcome twist on the genre that will likely leave most fans eager for more.

The series follows the story of a female detective — the titular Frankie Drake – as she solves crime in the changing world of 1920s Toronto.

Granted, this show isn’t Serious Drama or anything like that. But you know what? It doesn’t pretend to be. Nor should it have to.

There’s space in our collective television landscape for a show that’s charming, light-hearted and completely uninterested in telling the sorts of stories that dominate procedurals these days.

The premiere of Frankie Drake Mysteries is full of engaging characters, gorgeous clothes, and beautiful period settings. And most importantly — it’s fun.

It’s also positively full of women.

Not only is Frankie Drake Mysteries fronted by the titular female character, she’s joined by multiple other equally interesting female characters.

Because it turns out that Frankie actually runs the only all-female investigative agency in Toronto. And, as a result, the series feels largely unlike anything else that’s on right now.

The series’ four main characters are all women, and though there are several men who appear regularly onscreen — including one fairly famous historical figure — they never take over the story.

Instead, we see the women of Frankie Drake Mysteries constantly working together — sharing information, tag teaming investigations and donning a variety of disguises to solve their case.

First, we have Frankie herself, the outspoken, intelligent and fearless investigator who discovers in this episode that both her parents lied to her and her family’s past is, well, let’s say shadier than she was initially led to believe.

There’s Trudy Clarke, Frankie’s BFF and business partner in crime (investigating), who’s smart, talented and gifted at using her less than affluent background to ingratiate herself to both witnesses and sources.

There’s Mary Shaw, who works in the police station as a Morality Officer, and still longs for the day when she might be able to follow in her father’s footsteps.

And finally, there’s Flo, a pathologist at the city morgue who’s boisterous, funny, and very good at her job.          

All four women are very different, but gel together nicely as a group. (And, honestly, it’s just such a relief to see a series like this that is so unapologetically based around women, their friendship and their professional abilities.)

As far as premieres go, “Mother of Pearl” is pretty simple, mostly because the story has a lot of work to do outside of the mystery-of-the-week. Which is probably why said mystery ties directly back to Frankie herself.

A very valuable set of pearls is stolen from a rich couple, and a feather discovered in their safe afterward. This “Drake” feather turns out to be the calling card of Frankie’s deceased father Ned who was actually (surprise!) the head of a local gang of thieves?

(Just go with it.)

Besides being rather shocked that everything she knew about her dad was kind of a lie, Frankie also has to deal with the fact that the cops suspect her in the robbery because, I guess thievery skills are something you can inherit now.

This isn’t the only family-related shock Frankie’s in for this hour, either. The rich woman whose pearls were stolen?

Whoops, also Frankie’s presumed dead mother.

Maybe don’t think too hard about how this woman faked her own death and assumed a false identity for decades, or the ease with which she recognizes Frankie as her daughter.

Just focus on the fact that Nora is a blast to watch, and that she has great chemistry with her (Long-lost? Abandoned? Both?) child. It’s also kind of refreshing to hear a character state flat out that she’s never felt particularly maternal and hadn’t really wanted kids when she had one.

This, of course, does not excuse her walking out of Frankie’s life and allowing her daughter to grow up believing her dead, of course. But it is a perspective we don’t see very often.

Since it seems obvious we’ll see Nora again, I look forward to how her relationship with Frankie will evolve.

The solution to this week’s case is pretty obvious from the start — Nora’s husband stole the pearls from his own safe in an attempt to commit insurance fraud — but the mystery felt kind of surplus to needs to the rest of the story anyway, if we’re honest.

But despite the fact that it’s inaugural mystery is kind of meh, Frankie Drake Mysteries is nevertheless a bit of sparkling fluff, the kind of enjoyable series that will make everyone glad they watched it, even if it doesn’t necessarily end up on anyone’s Best-of lists this year.

Stray Thoughts and Observations

• I can’t stand the writing of the real Ernest Hemingway, so the fact that I’m finding this particular fictional version of him so attractive is really messing with my head.
• Speaking of Hemingway, the idea that he would have been in Toronto at this time is actually true. After his return from the war, a friend offered him a job in the city, and he became a staff writer for the Toronto Star Weekly. Even though he returned to the U.S. a year later, he continued to file stories for the paper.
• Where does Frankie shop because I want to go there.
• Also what is the number on her hair dye because, again, I want it.
• Basically, Frankie is style goals, is what I’m saying.

What did you think of this episode of Frankie Drake Mysteries? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Frankie Drake Mysteries airs Saturdays at 9/8c on Ovation.

 Follow us on Twitter! 

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Stranger Things 3 Trailer: 17 Reasons to Get Excited About the New Season