Cold Squad is a Canadian police procedural television series that premiered on CTV on January 23, 1998, at 10 p.m., and ran for seven seasons. Led by Sergeant Ali McCormick (Julie Stewart), a team of homicide detectives from the Vancouver Police Department reopen long-unsolved, or "cold" cases (the titular "Cold Squad"), using present-day forensic technology and psychological profiling to help crack them. Cold Squad premiered simultaneously in French Canada on Séries+ as Brigade spéciale.
The series was created by Matt MacLeod, Philip Keatley and Julia Keatley, and produced by Keatley MacLeod Productions and Alliance Atlantis in association with CTV Television Network, with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund (Canada Media Fund).
Cold Squad is the first prime time national series produced out of Vancouver. With seven seasons and 98 episodes it became the longest-running prime time drama series on Canadian television.
The cast of Cold Squad was diverse and changing. Except for Julie Stewart, almost the entire cast was replaced between the second and third seasons, and the series revamped. The revision was meant to attract a younger audience and more male viewers. (Michael Hogan, who played main character Det. Tony Logozzo in Seasons 1 and 2, appeared in the third season two-part opener episode "Deadly Games" but thereafter was gone from the series).
Starting with the third season, the "Cold Squad" division was folded into a province-wide task force and its basement setting eliminated. Along with significant variations of the title sequence (Seasons 1–2, 3–6, 7), theme music (Seasons 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7), new sets (Seasons 3–6, 7), and change in McCormick's hair colour from auburn to blonde along with her wardrobe (in particular her jacket), these differences contributed to a considerable reworking of the series. The only character to appear in all seven seasons was Sgt. Ali McCormick.
Cast and characters
Main cast
Julie Stewart as Sgt. Ali (Alison) McCormick
Michael Hogan as Det. Tony Logozzo (seasons 1–2 | Guest season 3)
Joy Tanner as Jill Stone (seasons 1–2)
Paul Boretski as Det. Nick Gallagher (season 1)
Jerry Wasserman as Insp. Vince Schneider (season 1)
Hiro Kanagawa as Det. James Kai (seasons 1–2)
Jay Brazeau as Sam Fisher (seasons 1–2, 4 | Recurring season 3)
Paul Coeur as Sgt. Lloyd Mastrowski (seasons 1–2)
Eli Gabay as Det. Larry Iredell (season 1)
Linda Ko as Christine Liu (seasons 1–2)
Bob Frazer as Det. Eddie Carson (season 2)
Lori Triolo as Det. Jackie Cortez (season 2)
Peter Wingfield as Insp. Simon Ross (season 2 | Guest season 3)
Garry Chalk as Insp. Andrew Pawlachuk (seasons 4–7 | Recurring season 3)
Tamara Craig Thomas as Det. Mickey Kollander (seasons 3–6)
Gregory Calpakis as Det. Nicco Sevallis (seasons 3–6)
Stephen McHattie as Sgt. Frank Coscarella (seasons 3–4)
Joely Collins as Christine Wren (seasons 4–7)
Matthew Bennett as Det. Len Harper (seasons 5–7 | Recurring season 4)
Sonja Bennett as Det. Samantha Walters (season 7)
Tahmoh Penikett as Cst. Ray Chase (season 7)
Recurring cast
Tasha Simms as Dep. Chief Malcolm (seasons 1, 2)
Stacy Grant as Leanne Walker (seasons 1, 3, 6)
Keith Martin Gordey as Judge Foster (seasons 2, 4)
Timothy Webber as Desmond Cage (seasons 2, 5)
Richard Ian Cox as Manny Needlebaum (season 3)
Sharon Alexander as Bernice Boyle (season 3)
Allan Lysell as Det. Bill Overmyer (season 3)
Lisa Houle as Rachel Sherman (seasons 3, 4)
David Palffy as Bailey Gallanson (seasons 3, 4)
Michael David Simms as Sgt. Casey (seasons 3, 4, 5)
Jill Teed as Laura (seasons 4, 5)
Kate Logie as Vanessa (seasons 4, 5)
Craig Warkentin as Vito (seasons 4, 5)
Laurie Murdoch as Chief Perkins (seasons 4, 6)
Lawrence Ricketts as Hank Johnson (seasons 4, 6)
Crystal Bublé as Billie (seasons 5, 6)
Bryan Genesse as Dan (seasons 5, 6)
Brenda James as Sonia Parker (season 6)
Adrian Holmes as Dr. Ben Wilson (seasons 6, 7)
Chilton Crane as Wanda Harper (seasons 6, 7)
Michael Rogers as Chief Wilcox (seasons 6, 7)
JR Bourne as Paul Deeds (season 7)
Development and production
Cold Squad was originally conceived in 1995 as a one-hour series for the Lifetime channel in the United States. Baton Broadcasting became involved in its development in November 1995. Lifetime, however, backed out in mid-1996 and in 1997 the producers partnered with Alliance Atlantis.
At the time Cold Squad was developed, the production of television series in Vancouver was heavily dominated by programs made for the United States. When Cold Squad was greenlit it became the first one-hour, prime time dramatic series for Canadian television to be produced out of Vancouver.
After Baton committed to local production of the series, the producers reached an agreement with Canadian labor union ACFC West (Association of Canadian Film Craftspeople) to cut the cost of labor on 13 episodes by $225,000 (CAD). With this concession, the overall budget to produce the first season became approximately $12.5 million (CAD).
An unexpected cash crunch by Telefilm Canada's Equity Investment Program affected the corporation's funding for the series and the original order for 13 episodes was reduced to 11 episodes. Funding was adjusted and both Baton and Alliance Atlantis committed to an increased financial investment in the production of Cold Squad, with the budget per episode at $900,000-plus (CAD). Baton thereafter reoriented its involvement to that of being the series' Canadian broadcaster only. Keatley MacLeod Productions retained 75% copyright ownership and the rights to U.S. distribution, and Alliance Atlantis retained 25% ownership with distribution rights in other international territories. (Baton Broadcasting, which had full control of the CTV network, was reorganized and renamed CTV Inc. in December 1998. In March 2000, CTV Inc. was acquired by Bell Canada Enterprises.)
Originally scheduled to start on June 16, 1997, filming on Cold Squad began on July 2, 1997, and the new series' scheduled premiere was changed from September 1997 to January 1998.
Cold Case intellectual property controversy
When U.S. television network CBS announced the premiere of Cold Case for its 2003/2004 schedule, John Doyle of The Globe and Mail wrote: "Cold Case...is a new drama about a blond, female cop (played by Kathryn Morris) who tracks down old, cold cases and faces discrimination because she's a woman. It has no connection with Cold Squad, a Canadian series about a blond, female cop who tracks down old, cold cases and faces discrimination because she's a woman." The likeness to Cold Squad was also noted by other Canadian television critics. Stephanie Earp of TV Guide wrote: "Last fall, American viewers got excited about a new crime drama that revolves around a tough blond detective with an edgy haircut who solves cold cases. Of course, Canadian viewers got excited by that show back in '98, when it debuted under the name Cold Squad."
The comparison between Cold Squad and Cold Case became compelling when it was revealed that Meredith Stiehm, the creator of Cold Case, had attended seminars on television writing in April 2002 at the Canadian Film Centre and was informed about the concept of Cold Squad during one of the sessions.