Marissa Wong (Wong & Winchester)

Created by Hollis Ludlow-Carroll

SOMEHOW I missed the short-lived Canadian TV show Wong & Winchester (2023) when it first aired, but I’m glad I stumbled across it (while searching for something else on Plex, a streaming service  that mysteriously popped up on my television, a few years later).

It’s not one of the great private eye shows of all time, but this comedy/crime mish-mash went down far easier than expected. Of course, it being set (theoretically) in Montréal didn’t hurt.

I say “theoretically” because despite flashes of very recognizable landmarks, I don’t think the city is actually named by anyone, and there’s absolutely nobody in the city who speaks French. Hell, except for a glimpse of Canadian currency, a tiny smattering of French surnames among the characters, and a quick glimpse of a “Montreal Police Headquarters” sign (in English only?), I’m not even sure if it’s supposed to take place anywhere.

But hey, there’s plenty of other stuff to like, and just a shot of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge or rue Sherbrooke goes a long way with me.

And damn it, I like the premise.

Chinese-Canadian MARISSA WONG is an ex-cop, a recovering drunk and possibly the rudest PI I’ve come across in a long time. The woman has absolutely no filters — she just motormouths her way through life, insulting friend and foe alike; a bitter, cynical and ill-tempered detective who doesn’t quite understand why her agency is struggling, despite the best efforts of her business partner, straight-laced Gary Johnson, and her latest driver, even more straight-laced Sarah Winchester (Gary’s goody-two-shoes niece).

Grace needs a driver because, yes, of course, her driver’s license has been suspended. Following an incident where she drove her car through a restaurant window. While intoxicated. While on duty. When the show begins, she’s already  hired (and fired) six previous drivers.

So it’s clear that Marissa is some kinda screw-up. Her life is a mess, a fact her domineering mother is quick to point out, and her love/hate relationship with her ex-police partner, the often-married-and-divorced Martin Simard, just underlines it.

But she’s also one smart and dogged investigator — a hard-charging detective who doesn’t mind breaking a few rules or tasing a suspect or two, on behalf of a client. Or if she feels like it.

Sarah, saddled with chauffeuring Marissa around, thinks she might become an investigator herself, and she certainly seems to see things Marissa misses completely. Which of course drives the detective crazy, and why she’s so quick to pounce on anyone who dares to refer to Sarah as her partner. “Driver,” she corrects instantly, at least once per show.

It’s a neat twist on the buddy cop formula, balances the banter with the typical mystery-of-the-week cases, but the contrast between Marissa and Sarah feels fresh and genuine, while the pouting, scowling, unhinged Marissa is a joy to watch — five-foot nothing, in a T-shirt, jeans, running shoes and shades, long hair flying and ready to kick ass.

And it’s all played for fun, mostly. It didn’t take itself too seriously — visual clues are highlighted in flashback, in case you missed them the first time. Marissa displays some surprising moments of brilliance, and there’s enough low-lying wit to keep things moving.

Too bad it only ran for six episodes.

That might have been due to the show’s inability to commit further. The relatively light-hearted approach (can murder ever be considered “light-hearted”?) may have done the show a disservice, offering too little grit for viewers to grab onto.

And why soft pedal the setting? Montréal is a vibrant, multi-lingual, multi-cultural stir fry of a city, wide-open, loud and diverse, and yet its entire ethos has been scrubbed and white-washed, rendering it as dull and featureless as any boring-as-fuck, blandly vanilla suburb in North America. There’s little French in evidence, audibly or visually,  anywhere in this undeniably French-speaking city (Someone alert the OQLF!!!), and the peek-a-boo shots to establish location (seemingly chosen at random) pass by so rapidly they’re almost completely useless.

Both the show — and Montréal — deserved better.

TELEVISION

• WONG & WINCHESTER | Watch it now!
  (2023, CityTV)
  6 60-minute episodes
  Created by Hollis Ludlow-Carroll
  Writers: Hollis Ludlow-Carroll, Chris Pozzebon, Elyne Quan, Ashley Park
  Directors: Stéphan Beaudoin
  Starring Grace Lynn Kung as MARISSA WONG
  Also starring Sofia Banzhaf as Sarah Winchester
  Joe Cobden as Gary Johnson
  and Anthony Lemke as Martin Simard
  • “The Lover” (January 17, 2o23)
  • “The Painting” (January 24, 2o23)
  • “The Curse” (January 31, 2o23)
  • “The Cheat” (February 4, 2o23)
  • “The Retreat” (February 4, 2o23)
  • “The Gun” (February 4, 2o23)

FURTHER INVESTIGATION