# Wild Cards (TV series)

Wild Cards is a police procedural television series co-produced by the Canadian CBC Television network and American network The CW. It premiered on January 10, 2024 in Canada, followed by its U.S. premiere on January 17, 2024.
On May 23, 2024, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on January 8, 2025, in Canada, and on February 5, 2025, in the U.S.

## Premise

Cole Ellis, a detective demoted to water-cop duty, is called to transport Max Mitchell, a seasoned con woman. While awaiting booking at the station, she cracks a major case for him involving the mayor's friends. The pair are offered an opportunity at redemption – Ellis a chance to get back his detective post, and Max a chance to stay out of jail – but they just have to work together.

## Cast

* Vanessa Morgan as Max Mitchell
* Giacomo Gianniotti as Cole Ellis
* Jason Priestley as George Graham
* Terry Chen as Chief Patrick Li
* Michael Xavier as Detective Simmons
* Amy Goodmurphy as Detective Yates
* Fletcher Donovan as Ricky Wilson
* Karin Konoval as Commissioner Russo
* Jonesy as Marc, Cole's Devon Rex companion
Recurring
* Martin Sheen as Joseph Edwards, a con man who has ties to Max and George (season 2)
Guest Stars
* Ally Sheedy as Rose Pruett, a tough no-nonsense ranch owner (season 2)
* Marie Avgeropoulos as Nadia Evans, a street racer and no-nonsense mother (season 2)
* Tony D’Angelo as Jaws, a criminal mastermind (season 2)
* Katie Findlay as Maddy, Max's best friend and former partner-in-crime (season 2)

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 10 | 10 | January 10, 2024 (2024-1-10) | March 13, 2024 (2024-3-13) |
| 2 | 13 | 13 | January 8, 2025 (2025-1-8) | TBA |

### Season 1 (2024)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Canada air date | U.S. air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | Rating/share (18-49) |
| 1 | 1 | "The Infinity Thief" | James Genn | Michael Konyves | January 10, 2024 (2024-1-10) | January 17, 2024 | 0.50 | 0.04/0 |
| To regain his detective status, Cole Ellis, a demoted by-the-book cop, is assigned to work with Max Mitchell, a spirited con artist whose charismatic street smarts could help catch an elusive thief. |||||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Show Me the Murder" | James Genn | Morwyn Brebner | January 17, 2024 (2024-1-17) | January 24, 2024 | 0.56 | 0.08/1 |
| A community outreach lecture on porch pirates turns into a murder investigation when Max and Ellis find an elite sports agent dead in his condo. Max's dad George gives her advice from his jail cell. |||||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Howl to Get Away with Murder" | Lee Rose | Story by : James Thorpe Teleplay by : Sabrina Sherif | January 24, 2024 (2024-1-24) | January 31, 2024 | 0.48 | 0.05/1 |
| Things go from quaint to creepy when Max and Ellis look into the disappearance of a butcher in a small rural town, Max quizzes Ellis on his personal life. |||||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Strangers on a Wave" | Lee Rose | Noelle Carbone | January 31, 2024 (2024-1-31) | February 7, 2024 | 0.52 | 0.08/1 |
| After a surfer gets shot and washes up on the beach, Ellis goes under cover and Max puts on her detective hat to unravel a criminal plot worthy of Hitchcock. |||||||||
| 5 | 5 | "The Accountant of Monte Cristo" | Shawn Piller | Marcus Robinson & Kristin Slaney | February 7, 2024 (2024-2-7) | February 14, 2024 | 0.52 | 0.07/1 |
| After an infamous accountant set to testify against the mob is kidnapped, Ellis gets an urgent call from an old friend to help get him back, Chief Li tells Max and Ellis they're on thin ice. |||||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Dead of Night" | Shawn Piller | Robina Lord-Stafford | February 14, 2024 (2024-2-14) | February 21, 2024 | 0.45 | 0.06/1 |
| Max and Ellis go behind-the-scenes of a long-running vampire TV show when a stalker sends cryptic death threats to the cast. Max opens up to Ellis about her mom. |||||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Con with the Wind" | Winnifred Jong | Seneca Aaron & Marcus Robinson | February 21, 2024 (2024-2-21) | February 28, 2024 | 0.47 | 0.04/0 |
| George gets a three-day pass from jail to spend his birthday with Max and feels the urge to pull one more con. |||||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Eternal Sunshine of the Therapized Mind" | Winnifred Jong | Alexandra Zarowny | February 28, 2024 (2024-2-28) | March 6, 2024 | 0.61 | 0.05/1 |
| When a celebrated therapist and best-selling author is murdered, a bickering Max and Ellis go undercover as a married couple at her wellness retreat and discover more than their chakras. |||||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Inside (Con)Man" | Alexandria LaRoche | Marsha Greene | March 6, 2024 (2024-3-6) | March 13, 2024 | 0.59 | 0.07/1 |
| When Max is taken hostage during a bank robbery, Ellis goes against protocol to secretly infiltrate the bank, where he and Max work together to negotiate the release of hostages. |||||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Romancing the Egg" | Amanda Tapping | Marcus Robinson & James Thorpe & Alexandra Zarowny | March 13, 2024 (2024-3-13) | March 20, 2024 | 0.54 | 0.06/1 |
| Ellis is drawn into a case involving Max, her ex, and a world-famous Imperial egg, where a cat-and-mouse heist tests their friendship, their partnership, and their trust in each other. |||||||||

### Season 2 (2025)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Canada air date | U.S. air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | Rating/share (18-49) |
| 11 | 1 | "Con in 60 Seconds" | James Genn | Michael Konyves & James Thorpe | January 8, 2025 (2025-1-8) | February 5, 2025 | 0.57 | 0.05/1 |
| New case, a high-speed street racing ring. |||||||||
| 12 | 2 | "Once a Con a Time in the West" | James Genn | Marcus Robinson | January 15, 2025 (2025-1-15) | February 12, 2025 | 0.50 | 0.06/1 |
| Attempted murderer of a ranch family's stud horse. |||||||||
| 13 | 3 | "The Lorne Identity" | Shawn Piller | Kristin Slaney | January 22, 2025 (2025-1-22) | February 19, 2025 | 0.43 | 0.03/0 |
| A paranoid biomedical engineer with a case of amnesia. |||||||||
| 14 | 4 | "Dial 'A' for Alibi" | Shawn Piller | Alexandra Zaroney | January 29, 2025 (2025-1-29) | February 26, 2025 | 0.42 | 0.02/0 |
| Stuck at home with a sprained ankle and a pair of binoculars, aka "Rear Window". |||||||||
| 15 | 5 | "Catch Me if You Con" | Shawn Piller | Carina Samuels | February 5, 2025 (2025-2-5) | March 5, 2025 | 0.43 | 0.03/0 |
| Max's childhood bestie visits. |||||||||
| 16 | 6 | "Séance and Sensibility" | Alexandra LaRoche | James Thorpe | February 12, 2025 (2025-2-12) | March 12, 2025 | 0.52 | 0.04/1 |
| Mysterious murder among an eccentric family where everyone is a suspect. |||||||||
| 17 | 7 | "The Big Bang Theory" | Alexandra LaRoche | Gorrman Lee | February 19, 2025 (2025-2-19) | March 19, 2025 | TBD | TBA |
| Bomb threat, trapped in the police station. |||||||||
| 18 | 8 | "Death By Design" | James Genn | Alexandra Zarowny | February 26, 2025 (2025-2-26) | March 26, 2025 | TBD | TBA |
| Murder within the world of haute couture, fashion models and overworked assistants. |||||||||
| 19 | 9 | "Barking Bad" | James Genn | Marcus Robinson | March 5, 2025 (2025-3-5) | April 2, 2025 | TBD | TBA |
| A murdered dog show judge. |||||||||
| 20 | 10 | "Our Lip (Fillers) Are Sealed" | Darcy Waite | Michael Konyves & K. Slaney | March 12, 2025 (2025-3-12) | TBA | TBD | TBA |
| Reality show murder. |||||||||
| 21 | 11 | "Bride and Doom" | TBA | TBA | March 19, 2025 (2025-3-19) | TBA | TBD | TBA |
| 22 | 12 | "Clouds In My Eyes" | TBA | TBA | March 26, 2025 (2025-3-26) | TBA | TBD | TBA |
| 23 | 13 | "Sunrise Sunset" | TBA | TBA | April 2, 2025 (2025-4-2) | TBA | TBD | TBA |

## Production
### Development

In early June 2023, CBC announced its new dramas for the 2023–24 season would include a new show titled Wild Cards from showrunner Michael Konyves. Shawn Piller would serve as executive producer, with Noelle Carbone as head writer/executive producer, and James Genn as pilot director/executive producer. Later that same month it was confirmed that production and filming had begun. The series is produced Blink49 Studios, Front Street Pictures and Piller/Segan in association with CBC Television in Canada; in October 2023, it was announced that The CW in the U.S. would also produce the series.

### Casting

In early October 2023, the first casting announcements were made for the two main roles with Giacomo Gianniotti to play the cop and Vanessa Morgan to play the con woman. In December 2023, it was announced that Jason Priestley had joined the cast.

### Filming

Filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia between July 24, 2023 and October 27, 2023, followed by a single day of filming in Toronto, Ontario.

## Release

Wild Cards was ordered to series by both Canadian broadcaster CBC and U.S. network The CW. The 10 episode first season premiered on January 10, 2024 on CBC Television in Canada and its associated digital streaming platform CBC Gem, as well as on-demand and both platforms' respective websites in Canada, and on January 17, 2024 on The CW, and the following day its app, on-demand and its website in the United States.

## Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 100% based on 5 critic reviews.