Murdoch Mysteries Season 20 Filming Locations: Where Was the Malta Premiere Filmed?

After nearly two decades of turning Canadian streets, heritage buildings and carefully constructed sets into early 20th-century Toronto, Murdoch Mysteries gives its twentieth season a noticeably different visual identity from the moment William Murdoch appears overseas. Season 20 premiere “The Maltese Falconer” follows Murdoch to Malta, where his reunion with mystery writer Nigella Fletcher develops into an investigation involving her late husband, a valuable tapestry and a legend stretching back to the island’s history.

The warm limestone buildings, fortified surroundings and Mediterranean landscape make the episode look unlike an ordinary Murdoch Mysteries installment. That difference is not simply the work of a Canadian location standing in for Malta. For the milestone premiere, the production actually traveled to Malta, while the wider twentieth season continued to use the Ontario locations that have helped shape the series for years.

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Where was Murdoch Mysteries Season 20 filmed?

Murdoch Mysteries Season 20 was filmed primarily in Ontario, Canada, with Malta serving as a major international location for the season premiere. The City of Toronto’s production records list “Murdoch Mysteries 20” as a Shaftesbury Murdoch XX Inc. production that began principal photography on May 19, 2026, with filming scheduled to continue into December. ACTRA Toronto separately lists the twentieth season with the same May start date and a December completion period.

That long production schedule explains why Season 20 can move between established studio work, Toronto-area filming and heritage locations elsewhere in southern Ontario. The series has always depended on places where Victorian and Edwardian architecture can be photographed without too many modern features entering the frame.

The significant change this year is Malta. Local Maltese coverage confirmed in May 2026 that the Canadian drama had chosen the country as a filming destination for its milestone twentieth season after CBC released footage of Yannick Bisson there. Ovation later confirmed that the premiere takes Murdoch to Malta for the Nigella Fletcher storyline.

Was the Malta premiere really filmed in Malta?

Yes. “The Maltese Falconer” was filmed on location in Malta rather than recreating the entire Mediterranean setting in Ontario.

That matters because Malta is not being used as an anonymous substitute for another country. The episode is actually set there. Murdoch’s investigation becomes intertwined with Maltese history as he follows the trail of a stolen tapestry and a treasure associated with the period of French rule on the island. The production was therefore able to use Malta’s real environment as part of the storytelling instead of treating it simply as scenery.

Shaftesbury Chairman and President Christina Jennings described the decision as a way of continuing to surprise viewers by finding new places for Murdoch to visit. In the official Season 20 announcement, she said that sending him to Malta allowed the series to move into a larger-scale adventure and pursue the mystery across a particularly striking setting.

That approach is evident in the premiere. Murdoch spends much more time outdoors and on the move than he would during a conventional Toronto investigation. The setting supports the episode’s treasure-hunt structure, allowing the story to move from homes and police offices into historic spaces and open landscapes.

Which Malta locations appear in The Maltese Falconer?

The production has confirmed Malta as the filming destination, but as of the Season 20 premiere, neither CBC nor Shaftesbury has released a reliable scene-by-scene list identifying the individual Maltese landmarks used in the episode.

That is an important distinction. Malta contains several historic cities, forts and limestone buildings frequently used by international productions, and it would be easy to label a location as Valletta, Mdina or one of the island’s famous fortifications based only on visual resemblance. There is not yet enough primary sourcing to state those specific locations as fact.

What can be confirmed is that the production physically took Yannick Bisson and the Season 20 unit to Malta. Local reporting covered the shoot months before the premiere, while CBC’s promotional material used footage filmed there to announce the new season.

The genuine Maltese setting is also one reason the premiere feels broader than the show’s familiar Toronto episodes. Instead of trying to remove Mediterranean characteristics from the frame, “The Maltese Falconer” makes the island’s architecture and landscape part of Murdoch’s journey.

Brantford returned for Season 20

Once production returned to Ontario, Brantford was among the confirmed Season 20 filming destinations. The City of Brantford announced that Murdoch Mysteries would shoot exterior scenes on June 11, 2026, with preparations and related production work taking place from June 10 through June 12.

The crew used George Street and Victoria Park, with sections of the surrounding streets temporarily controlled during filming. Those are exactly the kinds of locations Murdoch Mysteries regularly needs. Historic buildings, open civic spaces and streets that can be dressed with period details allow the production to create Toronto of the early 1900s without constructing every exterior from scratch.

Brantford is also far from a new discovery for the series. Murdoch Mysteries has filmed there repeatedly over the years, making the city’s older architecture one of the show’s dependable visual resources.

Cobourg provided several Season 20 locations

Cobourg, Ontario, also welcomed the production back during the Season 20 shoot. A municipal filming notice confirmed work on June 24 and 25 at several locations around town.

Victoria Hall at 55 King Street West was used for both interior and exterior filming. The following day, production moved through the Cobourg Conservation Area, 202 Church Street, Victoria Park and a private laneway at 29 King Street East. The number of locations involved over only two days shows how extensively Murdoch Mysteries uses real communities to assemble its fictional version of period Toronto.

Victoria Hall is especially suitable for the series because its historic facade can carry considerable visual weight without extensive digital alteration. Cobourg’s streets, parks and older properties likewise offer the production several distinct environments within a relatively compact area.

New Hamburg became Toronto in 1912

Season 20 also traveled to New Hamburg, Ontario, for an episode with a very different atmosphere from the sunny Malta premiere. The town’s historic downtown was transformed into Toronto in 1912 for the Season 20 holiday episode “On a Cold Winter’s Night.” Filming took place on July 29 and 30, 2026.

Producer Jeremy Hood said the production recognized the suitability of New Hamburg when scouting the location. Its preserved downtown architecture gave the crew the period foundation needed for a Christmas story without requiring the entire environment to be created on a backlot.

It is a useful example of the show’s location strategy. Season 20 may begin thousands of miles from Canada, but Murdoch Mysteries still relies heavily on southern Ontario communities whose architecture can convincingly take viewers back more than a century.

Why Malta feels so different from the usual Murdoch Mysteries locations

The contrast is intentional. For most episodes, the production’s challenge is to find Ontario buildings and streets that can disappear into Edwardian Toronto. In Malta, the location is supposed to remain recognizable as somewhere far from home.

That gives “The Maltese Falconer” an unusual sense of scale. The different light, stonework and geography immediately signal that Murdoch has left Station House No. 4 behind, while the island’s long history supports a plot involving the Knights of St. John, Napoleon’s occupation and a supposedly lost treasure.

After twenty seasons, taking Murdoch outside his familiar Canadian surroundings also gives the production an opportunity to refresh the show’s visual language without abandoning what has made its period world convincing. Malta supplies the adventure in the premiere, while Brantford, Cobourg, New Hamburg, Toronto and other Ontario locations continue doing the less conspicuous work of turning modern Canada into Murdoch’s 1912 world.