''The Dresden Files'' is a

dark fantasy Dark fantasy, also called fantasy horror, is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporates disturbing and frightening themes. The term is ambiguously used to describe stories that combine horror fiction, horror ...

television series based on the fantasy book series of the same name by

Jim Butcher Jim Butcher (born October 26, 1971) is an American author., He has written the contemporary Fantasy literature, fantasy ''The Dresden Files'', ''Codex Alera'', and ''Cinder Spires'' book series. Personal life Butcher was born in Independence, M ...

. The series follows private investigator and wizard

Harry Dresden ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/ mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, '' Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are w ...

as portrayed by

Paul Blackthorne Paul Blackthorne (born 5 March 1969) is an English actor. Although born in Shropshire, he spent his early childhood on UK military bases in Britain and Germany. Blackthorne broke into acting via television advertisements in England. His breakth ...

, and recounts investigations into supernatural disturbances in modern-day

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. It premiered on January 21, 2007, on Sci Fi Channel in the United States and on

Space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

in Canada. It was picked up by

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

in the UK and began airing on February 14 the same year. The series ran for a single season of 12 episodes, and has since been released on DVD. After the show ended on April 15, Sci Fi Channel revealed on August 3 that ''The Dresden Files'' was canceled and the second season was not picked up.

Cast and characters

Casting was confirmed in November 2005 by Robert Hewitt Wolfe:

Main cast

, a reluctant hero, a professional wizard who often helps the police with cases involving "unusual" circumstances and others who seek his help. Harry's mother Burdine Dresden, a powerful witch, died when he was young. He was raised by his father, a stage magician. When he was about 11, his powers began to emerge, and his uncle Justin Morningway wanted to take him and teach him about his abilities, so he murdered Harry's father with black magic when his father did not relinquish Harry to him. Bob makes reference to Harry "self-defensing" his uncle to death. Justin Morningway left a programmed ''

Doppelgänger A doppelgänger ( ), sometimes spelled doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its own fleshly counterpart. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or p ...

'' behind to resurrect him if he died. It is later revealed Harry inherited a large amount of money that he gave to charity and owns the Morningway estate, in which he refuses to live. * Valerie Cruz as Lt. Connie Murphy, the Chicago police officer who often seeks out Harry's help with cases that are hard to solve and may be supernaturally related, although she refuses to outright believe in magic, because such things do not fit with her "rules". She is dedicated and takes her job seriously, even going as far as seeking out the only wizard in the phonebook to help with cases. Lt. Murphy is a tough, no-nonsense woman who is divorced and has a daughter (Anna) who she says spends a lot of time with her father because of the long hours she has to work. Connie apparently has some romantic feelings toward Harry. She pointed out at the end of season one that if he kissed her again, she would not slap him. *

Terrence Mann Terrence Vaughan Mann (born July 1, 1951) is an American actor and baritone singer. He is best known for his appearances on the Broadway stage, which include Lyman in '' Barnum'', The Rum Tum Tugger in ''Cats'', Inspector Javert in ''Les Mi ...

as Hrothbert "Bob" of Bainbridge, the old spirit owned by Dresden. He was once owned by Dresden's uncle, Justin Morningway, before Dresden "self-defensed" him to death. He advises Dresden on both personal and magical matters. Bob is an invaluable source of knowledge which Dresden taps to solve supernatural crimes. In the first episode, Bob is seen redesigning a "Doom Box", which he describes as "a supernatural jack-in-the-box" containing and amplifying magical energy. The original Doom Box formula was included in a

grimoire A grimoire () (also known as a book of spells, magic book, or a spellbook) is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms, and divin ...

Bob wrote while he was alive; the book had been in Justin's possession until Harry burned it. Bob's current state is a punishment; he was executed, his soul sealed into his own skull for all eternity, for using black magic to bring a sorceress he had loved (Winnifred) back from the dead several hundred years ago. Bob died from an axe blow to the back of the head in 900 AD. *

Conrad Coates Conrad Coates (born July 12, 1970) is a British-born Canadian actor and teacher. He is best known for his roles as Headmaster T. Monk in ''The Zack Files'' (2001–2002), as Jimmy Brooks' father in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' (2004–20 ...

Warden Donald Morgan ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, '' Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are wri ...

, a warden of the High Council, the governing body of the wizarding community, and is assigned to the Chicago area. He is a stickler for the rules, powerful, and often confronts Harry because of their differing ideals and personalities; nonetheless, he often works with Harry - albeit under the table - where innocents are involved. *

Raoul Bhaneja Raoul Bhaneja is an English-Canadian actor, musician, writer and producer. Early life and studies Bhaneja was born in Manchester. His father is an Indian Sindhi, and his mother is Irish. A graduate of The National Theatre School of Canad ...

as Det. Sid Kirmani, an original character who appears to be an amalgamation of all the skeptical detectives who doubted Harry in the novels. A sarcastic cop who is deeply suspicious of Dresden, Kirmani often functions as Murphy's partner, or lead detective, and more than once has implicated Dresden to be guilty of the crimes he is investigating, more than once arresting the wizard simply because the crime is otherwise not apparently explainable.

Recurring cast

Matt Gordon Matt Gordon (born 1969) is a Canadian actor, perhaps best known for playing Doc in the sports sitcom ''Rent-a-Goalie'', and for his portrayal of Officer Oliver Shaw in the drama series ''Rookie Blue ''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police pr ...

as M.E. Waldo Butters, a Chicago PD medical examiner who has assisted Lt. Murphy on several of her more bizarre cases. *

Daniel Kash Daniel Joshua Kash (born April 25, 1959) is a Canadian actor and film director. He is known for his appearances in films such as '' Aliens'', '' The Hunt for the BTK Killer'', and ''The Path to 9/11'', and in television series such as ''Law & Ord ...

as Justin Morningway, warden of the High Council and Dresden's uncle, believed to be dead. *

Joanne Kelly Joanne M. Kelly (born December 22, 1978) is a Canadian actress, known for her appearances in films such as '' Going the Distance'', and in the TV series ''Warehouse 13'' as the character Myka Bering, a Secret Service agent. Early life and edu ...

as Bianca, one of the most powerful vampires in Chicago, and a member of the Red Court. * Jane McLean as Ancient Mai (portrayed by Elizabeth Thai in the pilot), the High Council's "top dog", who handles contact with other supernatural powers. *

Natalie Lisinska Natalie Lisinska (born 11 January 1982) is a British-Canadian actress. Lisinska was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England and grew up on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, attending St. Michaels University School St. Michaels University ...

as Laura Ellis, a waitress in a local diner, Harry's love interest in two episodes.

Minor magical characters

Dylan Everett Dylan Phillip Everett (born January 24, 1995) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles in '' How To Be Indie'' (2009–2011), '' Wingin' It'' (2010–2013), '' Degrassi'' (2012–2013), and '' Open Heart'' (2015). In 2022, he retired ...

as Scott Sharp—a 10-year-old adoptee with magical talent who was targeted by a skinwalker. *

Kathleen Munroe Kathleen Munroe (born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actress. Munroe was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and currently resides in Los Angeles. She attended high school at Westdale Secondary School in Hamilton, and studied cinema at the University of T ...

as Heather Bram—a recently converted lycanthrope who has left Chicago to face her new condition on her own. *

Kim Coates Kim Frederick Coates (born February 21, 1958) is a Canadian-American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American films and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' and in th ...

as Sirota—an earth-bound demon responsible for converting humans into hellspawn. * Kerry LaiFatt as Sharon Mirell—a former Chicago PD coroner who practices the very dark art of

reanimation Reanimation may refer to: * Reanimation (facial surgery) * Reanimation (science fiction), reanimation of the dead, as in Frankenstein * Reanimated collaboration, Reanimated collaborations, a type of collaborative Fan labor, fan-made animation proj ...

. *

Nathan Stephenson Nathan Stephenson (born July 27, 1986) is a Canadian former actor best known for his starring roles in ''Radio Free Roscoe ''Radio Free Roscoe'' is a teen drama, teen comedy-drama television series. The series was filmed in Toronto, Onta ...

as Dante Arrias—a magically talented college student who temporarily wielded the power to create doorways. * Christine Horne as Amber—a warden of the High Council; she helped Morgan protect Ancient Mai from a Kirtonian Dracoform. *

Yannick Bisson Yannick Denis Bisson (born May 16, 1969) is a Canadian film and television actor and director. He is famous for playing Detective William Murdoch on the series ''Murdoch Mysteries'' for over 15 years, since 2008. Early life Bisson was born in ...

as Sgt. Darren Munzer—a daring Chicago detective who cheated death by stealing other people's second chances.

Episodes

Development

In 2005, the SciFi Channel optioned ''The Dresden Files'' as a two-hour

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and backdoor

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...

executive produced alongside Hans Beimler, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Norm Golightly, and Morgan Gendel. It was produced by

Lionsgate Television Lionsgate Television is the television division of the American production company Lionsgate Studios. History The company was established in July 1997 as Lions Gate Television, Inc. with the establishment of Lionsgate Films. In June 1998, it ...

in association with Cage's Saturn Films. Production began during the Autumn of 2005. Originally, a Summer 2006 release was anticipated, but was delayed to January 2007. The pilot film was made from a

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

by television writers Hans Beimler and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and based on Butcher's novel '' Storm Front''. David Carson directed and shooting took place in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

was cast in the lead role in November 2005. A two-hour pilot was originally intended to serve as the premiere, but certain last minute developmental and casting changes delayed its completion. Episode three (in production order) was aired in its place. Along with the re-shooting of several scenes, the pilot had been cut to an hour and was the eighth episode to air. A third version of the pilot, now movie length, was broadcast late at night on March 7, 2008 by SciFi Channel. Besides restoring cut scenes from the original version of the pilot, it incorporated footage from throughout the season, placing it outside of the main series' continuity. Most notable in the re-edited version of the pilot was the fact that Bob, played by Terrance Mann in the series as a full apparition, was limited to only a disembodied voice who was centered around the familiar rune covered skull with animated lighting to symbolize the spirit within, more akin to the Bob of the novels. This re-editing was done later in the series as Mann did not join the series until after the original filming of the pilot had already been concluded. The full pilot version of "Storm Front" was not included in the original DVD release of the complete series.

Departure from novels

In a forum post

said that "the show is not the books. It is not meant to follow the same story. It is meant as an alternate world, where the overall background and story-world is similar, but not all the same things happen. The show is not attempting to recreate the books on a chapter-by-chapter or even story-by-story basis". He continued by saying viewers should not expect a duplicate of the books, and those expecting it would be disappointed.

Home media release

In August 2007, ''The Dresden Files'' was released by

Lions Gate Entertainment Starz Entertainment Corp, formerly known officially as Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation and commonly as Lions Gate and/or Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment industry, entertainment company currently headquartered in Santa Monica ...

onto

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

In other media

In the 2008 film '' The Eye'',

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her acting career at age 13 in ''Camp Nowhere'', followed up by ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (both 1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 as ...

's character is watching television after her sight is restored. An episode of ''The Dresden Files'' appears briefly on the television. This appears to be a cross-promotion between

and

(the distributor of ''The Eye'').

References

External links

Jim-Butcher.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dresden Files (TV series), The 2000s American drama television series 2000s American supernatural television series 2007 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings 2000s Canadian drama television series 2007 Canadian television series debuts 2007 Canadian television series endings American English-language television shows American fantasy drama television series Canadian fantasy drama television series Occult detective fiction Television shows about wizards Syfy original programming Speculative crime and thriller fiction television series Television shows about magic Television shows based on American novels Television series by Lionsgate Television Television shows set in Chicago Television shows filmed in Toronto The Dresden Files Urban fantasy television series