# Moonshine (Canadian TV series)

Moonshine is a Canadian drama television series, which premiered on September 14, 2021, on CBC Television. The series stars Jennifer Finnigan as Lidia Bennett, daughter of Ken and Bea Finley-Cullen played by Peter MacNeill and Corrine Koslo, the owners of a ramshackle summer resort on the south shore of Nova Scotia who are keen to retire but whose adult children are battling for control.

## Cast and characters
### Main

* Jennifer Finnigan as Lidia Bennett: an architect and the eldest Finley-Cullen sibling who wants to redevelop and exploit the Moonshine
* Anastasia Phillips as Rhian Finley-Cullen: Lidia's often-overlooked younger sister who sees The Moonshine as her own chance to shine
* Emma Hunter as Nora Finley-Cullen: Lidia's sister and a host at the local radio station who knows all the family secrets
* Tom Stevens as Ryan Finley-Cullen: Rhian’s twin, who is running his own marijuana business out of the resort
* Alexander Nunez as Sammy Finley-Cullen: Lidia's musically gifted adopted brother who holds secrets of his own
* Erin Darke as Crystal LeBlanc: Ryan's supportive girlfriend who has something to prove to herself
* Farid Yazdani as Oscar Finley-Cullen: a police officer trying to shut down the Moonshine who goes undercover as a guest
* James Gilbert as Terry Gallagher: Rhian's cop husband who is having an affair with her sister Nora
* Allegra Fulton as Jill LeBlanc: an old family friend with some nefarious motives and secrets of her own
* Corrine Koslo as Bea Finley-Cullen: Ken's wife and the matriarch of the Finley-Cullen family and co-owner of the Moonshine with secrets to hide
* Peter MacNeill as Ken Finley-Cullen: Bea's husband and the patriarch of the Finley-Cullen family and co-owner of the Moonshine, trying to decide who should take over the Moonshine from him and Bea
* Celia Owen as Eleanor Bennett (seasons 2–3; recurring season 1): Lidia's annoyed and environmentally-friendly daughter who dislikes staying at the Moonshine
* Calem MacDonald as Finn Bennett (seasons 2–3; recurring season 1): Lidia's son who struggles with his sexual identity at the Moonshine
* Leigh-Ann Rose as Aunjanue Arnold (seasons 2–3): Sammy's biological mother who worked at the Moonshine in her teen years
* J.D. Martin as Weston Lonergan (season 3)

### Recurring

* Jonathan Silverman as Daniel Bennett: Lidia’s husband and a star architect, suffering through his own mid-life crisis
* Stephen Lawrence as Bruce Barrington: a musician living in Foxton
* T. Thomason as Michael Hurson (season 1): Finn and Eleanor's love interest
* Loretta Yu as Moira Lancaster (season 1): a cop working with Oscar/Colin who worries when he begins to fail at his job
* Allan Hawco as Gale Favreau (seasons 2–3; guest season 1): Lidia's biker love interest who ropes Lidia into his dangerous occupation
* Shelley Thompson as Felicia Finley-Cullen (season 2): Lidia's late aunt who favors her and leaves 49 percent of the Moonshine to her when she passed

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally aired | Originally aired |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
| 1 | 8 | 8 | September 14, 2021 (2021-09-14) | November 2, 2021 (2021-11-02) |
| 2 | 8 | 8 | October 2, 2022 (2022-10-02) | November 20, 2022 (2022-11-20) |
| 3 | 8 | 8 | July 16, 2023 (2023-07-16) | September 3, 2023 (2023-09-03) |

### Season 1 (2021)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 1 | 1 | "Standby Out of Newark" | Scott Smith | Sheri Elwood | September 14, 2021 (2021-09-14) |
| Lidia Bennett returns home from New York to her family's Moonshine resort in Nova Scotia for her aunt's funeral. Unfortunately, her marriage implodes, her kids turn on her, and a surprise inheritance kicks off a family feud with her sister, Rhian. Instead of giving up and leaving, Lidia doubles down. She's going to stay and she's going to make her new life work or die trying. ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Escape Goat" | James Genn | Sheri Elwood | September 21, 2021 (2021-09-21) |
| Lidia takes the reins on an annual Moonshine event called the Goat Roast, with motives insisting on glampy upgrades and a fancy new name, while Rhian declares war. Meanwhile, Crystal talks to Ryan about a possible future away from Moonshine and the mushroom crop. ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "There is No I in Denial" | Scott Smith | Matt MacLennan | September 28, 2021 (2021-09-28) |
| In Lidia's attempt to transform Moonshine, Bea learns that Lidia has been going through Felicia's personal property, including information which Bea will go to extreme lengths to keep hidden. Meanwhile, Rhian has turned from being aggressive to scary and dangerous following the goat roast turned fiasco. ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Zen and the Art of Midlife Maintenance" | James Genn | Kate Spurgeon | October 5, 2021 (2021-10-05) |
| 5 | 5 | "Love Will Tear Us Apart" | Scott Smith | Josh Saltzman | October 12, 2021 (2021-10-12) |
| 6 | 6 | "Blueberry Season" | Scott Smith | Kate Spurgeon & Josh Saltzman | October 19, 2021 (2021-10-19) |
| 7 | 7 | "Who Is the Dead Guy?" | Sheri Elwood | Matt MacLennan | October 26, 2021 (2021-10-26) |
| 8 | 8 | "So Long, Farewell, You're Staying" | Sheri Elwood | Sheri Elwood | November 2, 2021 (2021-11-02) |

### Season 2 (2022)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 9 | 1 | "The Three Sisters of Fate" | Sheri Elwood | Sheri Elwood | October 2, 2022 (2022-10-02) |
| 10 | 2 | "Moose Knuckle & The Golden Clam" | Sheri Elwood | Kate Spurgeon & Robina Lord-Stafford | October 9, 2022 (2022-10-09) |
| 11 | 3 | "Bitches, I've Now Gone Outlaw" | Scott Smith | Matt MacLennan | October 16, 2022 (2022-10-16) |
| 12 | 4 | "Call of the Kraken" | Simonee Chichester | Kate Spurgeon & Josh Saltzman | October 23, 2022 (2022-10-23) |
| 13 | 5 | "The Dinnervention" | Sara St. Onge | Story by : Matt MacLennan & Angelica Mendizabal Teleplay by : Angelica Mendizabal | October 30, 2022 (2022-10-30) |
| 14 | 6 | "Mommy Issues" | Sara St. Onge | Sheri Elwood & Moira Stevenson | November 6, 2022 (2022-11-06) |
| 15 | 7 | "44.6304N 64.0515W" | Scott Smith | Josh Saltzman & Robina Lord-Stafford | November 13, 2022 (2022-11-13) |
| 16 | 8 | "How to Slander a Finley-Cullen or Die Trying" | Scott Smith | Sheri Elwood & Moira Stevenson | November 20, 2022 (2022-11-20) |

### Season 3 (2023)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 17 | 1 | "You Try Reinventing Your Life in Your Forties Fuckers" | Scott Smith | Sheri Elwood | July 16, 2023 (2023-07-16) |
| 18 | 2 | "It's a Vulva, Son" | Scott Smith | Kate Spurgeon | July 23, 2023 (2023-07-23) |
| 19 | 3 | "Sunk the Junk" | Shamim Sarif | Meredith Vuchnich & Alexander Nunez | July 30, 2023 (2023-07-30) |
| 20 | 4 | "I Am the Night!" | Shamim Sarif | Josh Saltzman | August 6, 2023 (2023-08-06) |
| 21 | 5 | "How to Lose Friends and Shit-Can Your Reputation" | James Genn | Angelica Mendizabal | August 13, 2023 (2023-08-13) |
| 22 | 6 | "Hold Me Closer Tiny Cancer" | James Genn | Moira Stevenson | August 20, 2023 (2023-08-20) |
| 23 | 7 | "Get My Baby Back" | Sheri Elwood | Sheri Elwood & Alexander Nunez | August 27, 2023 (2023-08-27) |
| 24 | 8 | "High Season" | Sheri Elwood | Sheri Elwood and Kate Spurgeon | September 3, 2023 (2023-09-03) |

## Production

Created by Sheri Elwood for Six Eleven Media and Entertainment One, the series was first announced in 2020 under the working title Feudal.
Following the conclusion of the first season, the CBC announced that the series was renewed for a second season, which is slated to add Allan Hawco to the cast., with Leigh-Ann Rose in a primary recurring role. A third season adds J.D. Martin to the primary cast.
The series was announced to have been cancelled after three seasons in December 2024.

## Release
### International

The series was released on Amazon Freevee in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2023, with both seasons and all 16 episodes on the platform at launch. It premiered in the United States on The CW on July 7, 2023.

## Critical response

John Doyle of The Globe and Mail wrote that the series had some good and fun aspects, but "there is, literally, too much going on. It’s like there are several series packed into one, and some of those involved aren’t quite sure which one they’re starring in."