B.C. capital, Empress Hotel murder steal spotlight in Jason Priestley drama

B.C. capital, Empress Hotel murder steal spotlight in Jason Priestley drama

Published 8:30 am Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Canadian actor Jason Priestley has shared the screen with many co-stars over his nearly five-decade career, but his latest might just be the biggest one yet.

Joining the former Beverley Hills, 90210 teen heartthrob and co-star Cindy Sampson for the new television show Private Eyes West Coast is B.C.’s capital city itself: Victoria.

And there’s no disguising the fact the comedy-drama has set up shop in the province’s ‘Garden City’.

From familiar landmarks to local businesses, Victoria is practically a scene-stealing character in its own right.

The first episode name-checks multiple local businesses including Barb’s Fish and Chips, Harbour Air and the Victoria Butterfly Gardens, while others play a much bigger role in the action.

Date night at the Fairmont Empress Hotel ends abruptly for Priestley and Sampson’s characters, Shade and Angie, when they make a grisly discovery. Later, the private eye duo find themselves untangling some decidedly dodgy dealings at Orca Spirit Adventures.

Filmed in Victoria last summer, Private Eyes West Coast is a spin-off of the popular original series that aired for five seasons from 2016 to 2021.

But this time around, there’s a major change for Shade and Angie – known to fans as “Shangie.” The pair are no longer circling the question of whether they’ll get together. They’re married, they have a baby, and they’re solving cases as a family.

Priestley admits he was initially trepidatious when he got the call to return, but the pilot quickly won him over.

“Once we all got a look at that, we were very, very eager to jump back in,” he says.

Sampson had her doubts, too.

“We thought the ‘Will they, won’t they?’ was what kept people engaged and if they did get together, that was the end of it,” she said.

Instead, she says, the new series has found a different gear. The reboot is “bigger and better than the original,” she promises.

“We’ve heightened up the laughs,” she says. “There’s still the heart and the humour of the original series, but yeah, it works.”

And while “Shangie” may be too busy chasing suspects around the city to soak up everything it has to offer, Priestley and Sampson say they had plenty of reasons to enjoy their time in B.C.’s capital.

“We had a wonderful time in Victoria,” Sampson told Victoria News. “My god, I love Victoria.”

“Victoria’s a beautiful city, and there’s tons of really interesting things going on that we were able to exploit for the show,” adds Priestley.

When they weren’t filming, Priestley said the cast and crew took full advantage of Victoria’s waterfront, hopping aboard Harbour Ferry water taxis and stopping at Fisherman’s Wharf and Boom and Batten for a bite to eat.

“We were all over the place in those water taxis,” he says. “That’s a super unique thing in Victoria that I think is really fun.”

Sampson also raves about a seaplane trip to Salt Spring Island, although she struggles to pick a favourite among Victoria’s many restaurants.

“We ate out a lot in Victoria,” she says. “I have like a running list, but I don’t even know if I have a number one – they were all so good. The restaurant scene there is amazing.”

There was, however, one standout for the pair.

“Pagliacci’s,” says Sampson. “That place I just thought was so fun; I love that place. When other people came to visit, that’s the first one we hit up.”

“There’s a reason it’s been around for as long as it has,” adds Priestley. “It’s a Victoria classic.”

A second season of Private Eyes West Coast has been given the green light, with writers on the hunt for new mysteries for “Shangie” to investigate and filming slated for next year in Victoria.

Priestley and Sampson have been tasked with feeding the writers local inspiration – and they may have just found their next case hiding – or should that be ‘burrowing’ – in plain sight.

Their ears prick up when they hear the tale of Victoria’s most famous marmot, Roger, who has called the grounds of the Empress Hotel home since 2008.

The celebrity rodent has yet to make his annual appearance this year, missing out on his usual springtime feast of the hotel’s famously flower-filled grounds after typically emerging from his winter hibernation in April or May.

While some fear Roger may have finally succumbed to old age, living beyond the typical 15-year life expectancy of a wild yellow-bellied marmot, Victoria News has a more devious theory.

Could Victoria Royals mascot Marty, the city’s second-most famous marmot, have grown jealous of Roger’s fame and decided to do the unthinkable?

Priestley and Sampson are certainly intrigued.

“They’re writing season two right now, and they’ve asked for anything of interest from us, so I mean … wait till we come back to them with marmots,” says Sampson.

“I just made that note: marmot and the Empress,” adds Priestley. “We are so stealing your idea.”

Private Eyes West Coast launches Sept. 30 on Global and STACKTV.

Read more: Sleeping beauty marmot Roger yet to wake from slumber at Victoria hotel.

Sooke serial killer sea otter joins Victoria marmot on missing critter list.

Empress and the beast: Victoria hotel’s turf war with marmot Roger.