# The Listener (2009)

> A paramedic who secretly reads minds uses his gift to help investigators while guarding his isolated, hidden life.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/13667

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 65
- Episode runtime: 42 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: crime, drama, science fiction
- Network: CTV
- Cast: Craig Olejnik, Ennis Esmer, Lauren Lee Smith, Rainbow Sun Francks, Lisa Marcos, Mylène Dinh-Robic, Peter Stebbings, Louise Nicol
- TMDB rating: 6.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1181541/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: brooding, tense, melancholic, intimate

## What critics say

Audiences find The Listener a mixed experience, with a strong third season offset by a sharply divided fourth season.

## Synopsis

The Listener (2009-2014) is a Canadian supernatural crime drama series created for CTV and produced by Shaftesbury Films. Craig Olejnik plays Toby Logan, a skilled paramedic who can read minds and hides the ability from almost everyone, sharing it only with his mentor Dr. Ray Mercer. Raised in foster care and never knowing his parents, Toby is a loner whose gift pulls him into police investigations alongside detectives including Osman 'Oz' Bey (Ennis Esmer), Michelle McCluskey (Lauren Lee Smith) and Dev Clark (Rainbow Sun Francks). The engine of the show is the tension between the help Toby can give and the risk of exposure, as each case turns on what a suspect thinks but does not say. Across five seasons, the series moves through a mix of case-of-the-week investigations and longer arcs set in present-day Toronto. Its tone is moody and procedural, with a lonely protagonist, urban night streets and a steady undercurrent of paranoia about who might discover his secret. Fans of Lie to Me, The Mentalist and Psych will find resonance in its blend of crime-solving and psychic intrigue.

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