| Carter | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Created by | Garry Campbell |
| Starring | |
| Composers | |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Cinematography | Craig Wright |
| Editors |
|
| Running time | 42 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | CTV Drama Channel |
| Release | May 15, 2018 – December 20, 2019 |
Carter is a Canadian television crime comedy drama series created by Garry Campbell, which premiered on May 15, 2018, on CTV Drama Channel (formerly Bravo).[1] The series stars Jerry O'Connell as Harley Carter, the Canadian star of a hit American television detective series who returns to his hometown to rethink his life after having a public meltdown on the red carpet at an awards show, but finds that his old friends and neighbors can no longer separate him from his television persona and keep asking him to investigate real cases.[2]
The cast includes Sydney Tamiia Poitier as Carter's childhood friend and police officer Sam Shaw, Kristian Bruun as streetwise truck stop owner Dave Leigh, as well as Brenda Kamino. In Season 2, Lyriq Bent joined the cast as the interim police chief, Joyce Boyle, and Andy Berman took over as showrunner. Produced by Amaze Film and Entertainment, the series is shot in North Bay, Ontario, in 2017.[3]
The show was commissioned by Sony Pictures Television (for AXN in Spain, Latin America, Brazil, Japan, Central Europe and Russia) and Bell Media, and is distributed outside of Canada by Sony.
In January 2019, the series was renewed for a second season by WGN America in the United States.[4] The second season premiered in Canada on October 25, 2019,[5] and premiered on WGN America on January 20, 2020.[6]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 10 | May 15, 2018 | July 17, 2018 | |
| 2 | 10 | October 25, 2019 | December 20, 2019 | |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Koji the Killer" | Scott Smith | Garry Campbell | May 15, 2018 |
| 2 | 2 | "The Astronaut & The Lion King" | James Dunnison | Ken Cuperus | May 22, 2018 |
| 3 | 3 | "The Farmhand Who Bought the Farm" | Scott Smith | Jenn Engels | May 29, 2018 |
| 4 | 4 | "Harley's Got a Gun" | Scott Smith | Larry Bambrick & Garry Campbell | June 5, 2018 |
| 5 | 5 | "Pig, Man, Lion" | James Dunnison | Garry Campbell & Wil Zmak | June 12, 2018 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Flood" | Scott Smith | Garry Campbell | June 19, 2018 |
| 7 | 7 | "Kiki-Loki" | Gail Harvey | Larry Bambrick & Garry Campbell | June 26, 2018 |
| 8 | 8 | "Voiceover" | Rich Newey | Garry Campbell & Wil Zmak | July 3, 2018 |
| 9 | 9 | "Happy Campers" | Gail Harvey | Garry Campbell & Jenn Engels | July 10, 2018 |
| 10 | 10 | "The Ring" | Rich Newey | Garry Campbell | July 17, 2018 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [7] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Harley Wears A Wig"[8] | Peter Wellington | Andy Berman | October 25, 2019 | |
| Guest star: Colin Mochrie | ||||||
| 12 | 2 | "Harley Loses a Finger"[8] | Peter Wellington | Garry Campbell | October 25, 2019 | |
| 13 | 3 | "Harley Gets Replaced"[9] | Jerry Ciccoritti | Carlos Jacott | November 1, 2019 | |
| 14 | 4 | "Harley Gets an Office Job"[10] | Kelly Makin | Vivian Lin | November 8, 2019 | |
| Guest star: Derek McGrath | ||||||
| 15 | 5 | "Harley Gets a Hole in One"[11] | Kelly Makin | Andy Berman | November 15, 2019 | |
| 16 | 6 | "Harley Insisted On Wearing Pants"[12] | Jerry Ciccoritti | Garry Campbell | November 22, 2019 | |
| 17 | 7 | "Harley Wanted To Say Bonspiel"[13] | Mars Horodyski | Jennifer Kassabian | November 29, 2019 | |
| 18 | 8 | "Harley Gets To Be Best Man"[7] | Mars Horodyski | Andy Berman & Carlos Jacott | December 6, 2019 | |
| 19 | 9 | "Harley Doesn't Get His Man"[7] | Sudz Sutherland | Garry Campbell | December 13, 2019 | |
| 20 | 10 | "Harley Takes a Bow"[7] | Sudz Sutherland | Andy Berman & Carlos Jacott | December 20, 2019 | |
The series is slated to air on AXN in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas,[14] and on UKTV in the United Kingdom.[15]
A few weeks after the season premiere on Bravo, Bell Media announced that the series will receive a second window run on terrestrial CTV stations in the summer.[16]
In the United States, WGN America acquired the airing rights in June 2018.[17] The series premiered on the network on August 7, 2018.
Amy Glynn from Paste called the show "cheeky, sardonic, and emotionally forward, with strong relationships between characters who generally have a humorous angle and tend to be pretty well-developed".[18]
The show received a negative review with Canadian television critic John Doyle of The Globe and Mail calling the show "inelegantly made tomfoolery". He poked fun at other media sources being hung up on the star of the show, Jerry O'Connell, instead of critiquing the quality of the show itself. In short, he said, "When it comes to Canadian TV, the term "exacting standards" doesn't apply".[19]
Los Angeles Times reviewer Lorraine Ali remarked "The show's hour-long episodes are generally pretty entertaining, thanks to the charm and timing of O'Connell" concluding that the show "isn't a gag a minute, or super edgy or the TV comedy that will beat "Veep's" Emmy record. It is, however, an easy-to-watch satire with just the right balance of smart jokes for silly situations".[20]
