“Shoot the messenger,'” a political crime thriller, produced by  Sudz Sutherland and

Jennifer  Holness, the husband and wife team from Hungry Eyes Film and Television,

premieres on Monday on CBC-TV.

In an interview, Jamaica-born Holness concedes that the idea of shooting or killing the

messenger is certainly not a new one in the field of journalism or in other areas where  the

message may not be well received.

She cites, for example, the case of Old Testament prophets who often had a hard time

delivering their messages of warning to an errant people.

But “Shoot the messenger”, created by herself and  Sutherland who met each other while

attending York University in Toronto, is a modern-day story set in multicultural  Toronto.

The eight-episode series centres on the complex  relationships between crime reporters and the

police.

According to  a news release from  the CBC media centre, it follows Daisy Channing ( Elyse

Levesque), a young reporter trying to balance a messy personal life with a burgeoning career.

Things begin to go sideways for Daisy when she witnesses a murder which she thinks is gang-

related, only to find herself slowly drawn into an interconnected web of criminal and illicit

sexual activity that reaches into the corridors of corporate and political power.

The news release goes on to say that  it’s the kind of story that will destroy lives, including those

of her own family.

With help from lead homicide detective Kevin Lutz (Lyriq Bent), her editor Mary Foster  (Alex

Kingston and co-worker Simon Olenski (Lucas Bryant), Daisy uncover a cover-up so

scandalous it could bring down the government.

Sounds familiar?

Well, according to Jennifer, she and Sutherland were inspired by recent political developments to

write the script.

The cast also includes Hannah Anderson as Daisy’s sister,  Chloe Channing and  Ari Cohen as

the  Attorney General and features special appearances by The Barenaked Ladies’ Ed Robertson

as Greggor Woods, The Toronto Raptors’ Jamal Magloire as Orlandio Spence and ex-NBA

player-turned-television-star Rick Fox as Anthony Telpher.

The series was filmed on location in Toronto.