Coroner may be a felony / medical procedure, but her primary focus has always been Jenny Cooper’s (Serinda Swan) personal journey of mental health as she struggles with grief, childhood trauma and anxiety. That journey takes a turn – and the series receives an infusion of energy – in Season 4, which premieres Thursday at 8 p.m. on CBC.
In “Emerge”, written by new showrunner Adriana Maggs (Hard enough cases), Jenny is still reeling from the shocking loss of Liam (Eric Bruneau) in the Season 3 finale. On sabbatical from work, she is locked in an Airbnb trailer on a rural farm, cultivating a garden and trying to take a break from all that is death related. She remains in close contact with Ross (Ehrem Kassam), who is at home looking after Gordon (Nicholas Campbell) with the help of her recently remade mother, Peggy (Jennifer Dale), but is clearly in no rush. to return to his chaos. life.
Back in Toronto, Detective McAvoy (Roger Cross) faces the opposite situation. After taking four months off work to recover from his spine surgery, he’s back to work and eager to prove he’s up to the job, especially to his partner Malik (Andy McQueen) and his girlfriend Kirima (Sarah Podemski). Meanwhile, at the coroner’s office, standby coroner Dr Elijah Thompson (Thom Allison) makes life difficult for Jenny’s staff, who can’t wait for her to return.
Just as we can count on Jenny having a new hairstyle each season (spoiler: it’s longer now), we know that a new case – likely one in the quiet community she seeks refuge in – will soon have her lead again. autopsies. However, things aren’t quite as usual once Jenny regains her rhythm; altered relationship dynamics and new faces bring new vitality and direction to the series.
Liam’s death upsets Jenny’s healing process unexpectedly, leaving the writers and Swan to dig into the confusing layers of grief and guilt of the survivors, topics for which televised proceedings rarely take time. Plus, Dale and Allison have a great performance turning Jenny’s world upside down at home and at work. and McAvoy’s reaction to his fear of health provides some early twists, adding new nuances to his partnership with Malik and giving Cross more opportunities to shine. Overall, the show feels refreshed and like it has a lot more to say, which is quite a feat for a fourth-year death drama.
Coroner Airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.
Image courtesy of CBC.
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