Television series
Republic of Doyle is a Canadian comedy-drama television series set in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which aired on CBC Television from January 6, 2010, to December 10, 2014.[1]
The show stars Allan Hawco as private investigator and former police officer Jake Doyle and Seán McGinley as his father, retired police officer Malachy Doyle.[2] They partner as private investigators with Rose Doyle, Malachy's second wife, played by Lynda Boyd, in St. John's. Krystin Pellerin stars as Constable/Sergeant Leslie Bennett, with Mark O'Brien as Desmond "Des" Courtney, who works with the Doyles, and Marthe Bernard as Katrina "Tinny" Doyle, Jake's niece and Malachy's granddaughter. Their cases involve them in all sorts of dealings – not all of them on the right side of the law.
Production
The show is filmed in and around St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.[4] The show's star, Allan Hawco, is also executive producer/showrunner/co-creator and head writer of the show.
Other producers include John Vatcher (exec producer), Rob Blackie, Perry Chafe (co-creator and writer) and Michael Levine.[5]
In 2013, Republic of Doyle aired a fictional crossover with another CBC Television crime drama, Murdoch Mysteries.[6] With the two shows set over 100 years apart, Hawco appeared on the November 25, 2013 episode of Murdoch Mysteries as Jacob Doyle, a 19th-century ancestor of Jake Doyle, while Yannick Bisson appeared on the January 28, 2014 episode of Republic of Doyle as Detective Bill Murdoch, a 21st-century descendant of his regular character Detective William Murdoch.[6]
Season synopses
Season One
Premiering on January 6, 2010, the show introduces Allan Hawco as Jake Doyle and Sean McGinley as Mal Doyle as a father and son pair of private investigators. The debut show also reveals relationship complications with Jake and his ex-wife Nikki and his new infatuation: Leslie, a constable in the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. While Jake tries to improve his relationship with Leslie, he discovers he may have impregnated his ex-wife, but soon discovers the positive pregnancy test he found in her garbage can did not belong to her. After he realizes he is free from the burden of having to deal with child-support, his relationship with Leslie develops as Nikki's relationship with her new boyfriend grows. However, Leslie soon begins to doubt whether her relationship with Jake will prove beneficial in the future. As Jake finalizes his divorce with Nikki, his relationship status with Leslie improves to good friends. Yet Leslie's focus quickly shifts to her new title as Sergeant after being promoted to the position. Jake realizes he has other problems too; his mischievous older brother, Christian, makes an unexpected visit to his house, greeting him in the kitchen. After Christian offends Jake, their relationship swiftly intensifies. The last episode of the season shows the characters’ struggle to keep their republic strong as their relationships fall apart.[7]
Season Two
Season Two begins with Rose, Mal's partner, dealing with the consequences of his recent heart attack. Meanwhile, Jake and Leslie take initiatives to move past the hiccups in their relationship and move on from one another. Tinny, Jake's niece, embarks on an investment in order to raise personal funds, meanwhile, Mal discovers a secret that Rose has kept from him; her mother stole her engagement ring. Jake learns what Leslie sees their relationship as. As the season progresses, so does Tinny's income business along with the amount of friends she makes. Jake as well as the viewers are introduced to Allison, the crown attorney. Meanwhile, Mal and Rose experience issues in their marriage but are quickly able to recover and move forward. As Mal's relationship with Rose strengthens, so does Jake's relationship with Allison when they move past the boundaries of friendship. Des, an admirer of Tinny yet an enemy of Jake, exploits Tinny's business yet saves it in the process. Adding to the drama, Jake finds himself bailing his delinquent brother out of jail and finds himself dealing with issues concerning money. Like all his previous relationships, Jake mis-manages to maintain his relationship with Allison. When Jake receives a new job offer, his relationship with her struggles even further. Meanwhile, the relationship of Des and Tinny becomes more intimate. After further complications with Allison, they separate.[7]
Season Three
In the opening episode of Season Three, the viewers are informed that Tinny travels to London. However, it is revealed by Des that her trip did not go smoothly but Des promises to keep this a secret. Jake finds himself interacting with Nikki again by doing a favor of which he is not fond. Jake struggles to avoid Nikki and win back the unimpressed Leslie. Rose gets in trouble with the police for carrying a gun. Tinny is bothered by the quickly growing relationship between Des and Chandra, a university student of medicine. Jake's sister Kathleen, a newly introduced character, is helped with her mothering issues by Rose. The two begin to progress in their friendship. Des finds himself in a precarious position—choosing between Tinny and Chandra. He decides to break up with Chandra and pursue a romance with Tinny. Kathleen faces parenting issues at home. Des attempts to impress Jake by helping him in an investigation using his various connections, while Allison[clarification needed] jeopardizes the safety of the Doyle household with a mistake from her past. Mal becomes tied up in complications with his former wife while Tinny obsesses over her death and Kathleen experiences troubles in their relations as a result of a poor decision in Kathleen's history. George, an unappreciated individual in the Republic, bothers Kathleen by scamming her, but Jake comes to the rescue and saves her from his tricks. The season ends with Tinny discovering the identity of her father, which is not revealed to the viewers.
Season Four
The season kicks off with relatives from Ireland paying the Doyles a visit a bringing some drama along with them. As in the previous season, Tinny still tries to unravel hidden secrets about her dad and succeeds in doing so; she discovers her mother, Kathleen conceived her with a current prisoner, Kevin Crocker. Tinny attempts to associate with Crocker by revealing her true identity as his daughter. Jake tries to redefine his relationship with Leslie by reintroducing her into his world, and by doing so, he is able to once again gain her trust, as well as her affection. However; disaster strikes and Jake searches for the missing Leslie, who disappeared as a result of working a precarious case. Jake soon comes to the rescue, and saves Leslie from her kidnapper. Soon after the major incident, Leslie is hit by personal issues regarding family: her father dies. Meanwhile, Tinny's relations with Crocker grow and Jake is troubled by the fact that Tinny is spending so much time with the con. Jake takes another hit after being kidnapped as his kidnapper nearly takes his life by burning him to death. After being hit by a car in a parking garage, the medication used to mend Jake's injuries from the incident, gives him some peculiar dreams. The season comes to an end with Crocker and Jake being forced to collaborate in order to save the kidnapped Tinny.[7]
Season Five
After the wild adventure Jake took in the previous season by saving Tinny, his rescue mission leads to his kidnapping. The Doyles have been anxiously searching for him for the past two months and Tinny risks her career as a police officer and becomes unprofessional by involving her personal life in her police work and helping Jake. As a result, Tinny gets suspended. Meanwhile, Des overcomes his sorrow over losing Tinny. Jake experiences more complications in returning to St. John's, but eventually makes it home safe with the help of his niece. Jake and Leslie's relationship improves up. When Leslie is being followed and nearly gets shot, Jake is extremely worried for her safety but soon finds out her pursuer is actually her long-lost husband. Jake and Leslie try but fail to smooth their relationship with the shocking news. Leslie and Jake are finally forced to define their relationship and decide not to see each other due to the recent complications, even after Jake confesses his love. After Des hooks up with a troubled young woman, Sloan, he must avoid Tinny. Jake finds it hard to avoid Leslie when he gets tied up in her ex-husband's business. Meanwhile, Tinny gets the chance of her career on a big case. To make matters worse for Jake, Nikki pays him a visit. The season ends with Jake being tried and arrested for murder but is then kidnapped by one of Leslie's pursuers; the kidnapper forces Jake to make several unwarranted missions.[7]
Season Six
After being accused of murder, Jake must confront his enemies as he comes to terms with what happened to Leslie and try to clear his own name in the process. Leslie goes back to work a couple episodes in, but with conditions, and she must meet with the force therapist. Sloan gets into trouble and Jake must bail her out by making a deal with Vick Saul. Even though she was not cleared by her therapist after having a panic attack on duty, Leslie lends a hand to the Doyle clan to try and clear Jake's name before it is too late. When Leslie's past disobedience on the force comes to light, she must work harder than ever to save her job. Jake's murder conviction comes front and centre as the season comes to a final close with all the Doyle family trying to clear his name.[8][9]
