If you’re an audience like me who enjoys watching intense mystery shows or wants to experience the excitement of uncovering the truth behind a case, CTV has a series that might surprise you!
Sight Unseen was CTV’s latest detective thriller back in January. This show follows Detective Tess Avery, who begins losing her vision while working. At first, she ignores it, but when a mistake almost costs her partner Jake Campbell’s life, Tess quits the police force. She turns to her childhood friend Matt for support but can’t let go of the case she’s working on. Tess hires a virtual seeing-eye guide named Sunnyto help her solve the case. Sunny, who is 4,000 kilometers away, has her own secrets, and together, they get deeper into dangerous situations.
Ahead of the series premiere of #SightUnseen, Sunday, Jan. 21 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on @CTV, series lead Dolly Lewis discusses her personal struggles with her vision, their manifestation in the character of Tess Avery, and how she prepared for the role. Read @billharris_tv’s full… pic.twitter.com/q128uo13aP
— CTV PR (@CTV_PR) January 17, 2024
The show was co-created by sisters Karen and Niko Troubetzkoy, who have worked on popular Canadian TV shows like Orphan Black. Sight Unseen is personal to them, especially for Karen, who lost her vision due to detached retinas but regained it after surgery. Inspired by a real story, the sisters created a show about a detective who navigates her world with the help of a virtual guide.
To make the show as real as possible, the sisters worked with consultants from the visually impaired community, including an undercover detective who lost their sight but kept working. Dolly Lewis, the lead actress, is sight-divergent, and supporting actor Alice Christina-Corrigan is both visually impaired and neurodivergent. A unique feature of the show is that the two main actresses, Lewis and Darshi, filmed their scenes separately. Darshi would read her lines off-camera to help build chemistry between the characters.
Though the show was originally meant to take place in Toronto, it was filmed in Vancouver, which added more tension as Sunny’s character is even farther from Tess. The show’s dark tone and thrilling moments were inspired by shows like Orphan Black, and there’s even a scene inspired by Silence of the Lambs. The series also includes cameos from Canadian actors like Ennis Esmer and Roger Cross, making it an exciting watch full of suspense.
I personally think Canada really needs more high-quality TV shows and movies to represent and share our culture with the world. Most producers have really good ideas for their projects, but without enough support, it’s hard for them to bring those ideas to life!