If you grew up in Canada in the late nineties, or if you were just a fan of L.M. Montgomery’s moodier, darker stories, then the Emily of New Moon TV series cast likely occupies a permanent corner of your brain. It wasn't quite Anne of Green Gables. It was stranger. Ghostlier. Honestly, looking back, the show felt less like a Sunday afternoon picnic and more like a gothic fever dream set on Prince Edward Island.
The show premiered in 1998 and ran for four seasons, but if you try to talk about it now, people often mix it up with the Kevin Sullivan productions. Big mistake. This series, produced by Salter Street Films and CINAR, had a completely different DNA. It was grittier, and the casting was a massive part of why it worked. You’ve got these heavy hitters like Stephen McHattie and Sheila McCarthy playing characters that felt lived-in and, at times, genuinely unsettling.
The Girl Who Became Emily Byrd Starr
Martha MacIsaac was basically a kid when she landed the lead. Only 13. She wasn't some polished Hollywood child star; she was a P.E.I. native, and you could feel that in her performance. She had these huge, expressive eyes that could go from imaginative wonder to pure, freezing spite in about three seconds.
Most people today probably know her as Becca from the 2007 comedy Superbad. It’s a bit of a head-trip to realize the girl writing "Letters to Father" in a drafty attic grew up to be the love interest in one of the biggest R-rated comedies of all time. But that’s the range she had. In Emily of New Moon, she had to carry the weight of an orphan who was essentially being "managed" by a group of relatives who didn't really want her there. She made Emily feel sharp, not just sweet.
The Enigma of the Murray Family
The adults in the Emily of New Moon TV series cast weren't just background noise. They were the walls of Emily's prison—or her safety net, depending on the episode.
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Susan Clark played the formidable Aunt Elizabeth Murray. If you remember Clark from the sitcom Webster, this was a total 180. She was rigid. Bone-deep stubborn. But Clark played Elizabeth with this buried layer of grief that made you almost pity her, even when she was being cruel. Here's a bit of trivia that usually shocks fans: Susan Clark actually left the show after the first season (mostly). Her character was killed off, which was a massive departure from the books and shifted the entire dynamic of the New Moon farmhouse.
Then there was Sheila McCarthy as Aunt Laura. McCarthy is a Canadian legend—she’s won Genies and Geminis for a reason. Her Laura was the "soft" one, but the showrunners gave her a much darker arc than Montgomery ever did in the novels. They leaned into her fragility. There was this whole subplot about her addiction to laudanum and her eventual breakdown. It was heavy stuff for a "family" show.
And we have to talk about Stephen McHattie.
McHattie played Cousin Jimmy Murray. In the books, Jimmy is "simple" because of a fall into a well as a child. In the show, McHattie brought this weird, ethereal energy to the role. He felt like a forest spirit trapped in the body of a farmhand. He was the one who truly understood Emily’s "Flash"—that psychic, creative spark she felt. McHattie has gone on to be in everything from Watchmen to 300, usually playing tough guys or villains, but his Jimmy Murray remains one of the most tender performances in Canadian TV history.
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The Kids of Blair Water
The friendships in the show were just as messy as the family life.
- Jessica Pellerin (Ilse Burnley): She was the fire to Emily’s ice. Pellerin was so good as the neglected, wild Ilse that she was eventually promoted to the main cast in the final season. Her chemistry with MacIsaac felt like a real, sometimes toxic, childhood friendship.
- Kris Lemche (Perry Miller): The "hired boy" with political ambitions. Lemche has had a massive career in cult classics like Ginger Snaps and Final Destination 3. He brought a needed groundedness to the show.
- Shawn Roberts (Teddy Kent): Every 90s girl’s first crush. He played the artist Teddy. Roberts stayed busy, later appearing in the Resident Evil films and X-Men.
Why the Cast Shifted So Much
One thing that confuses people re-watching the series today is how much the cast changed after Season 1. When Susan Clark left, the show brought in Linda Thorson as Cousin Isabel and the late, great John Neville as Uncle Malcolm. It felt like a different show for a while.
Neville, who was famously The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, brought a theatrical weight to the Murray household. But the heart of the show always remained that core trio: Emily, Laura, and Jimmy. Even as the writing got weirder in the later seasons (remember the time-traveling episodes or the ghosts?), the actors kept it grounded in something human.
What to Watch Next if You Miss New Moon
If you’re looking to dive back into this world or see what the actors did next, you've got options. Honestly, seeing Martha MacIsaac in Superbad is a must just for the contrast. If you want more of that moody P.E.I. vibe, seek out the 1987 film I've Heard the Mermaids Singing starring Sheila McCarthy—it’s brilliant.
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For the true die-hards, tracking down the Japanese anime version, Kaze no Shoujo Emily, is a trip. It’s a very different take on the characters, but it shows just how much this specific story resonates globally.
Basically, the Emily of New Moon TV series cast succeeded because they didn't treat it like a "kids' show." They treated it like a drama about trauma, isolation, and the desperate need to create something beautiful in a cold world.
Next Steps for Fans:
- Check out the 2021 audio adaptation of the books narrated by Megan Follows (the original Anne Shirley!) to hear a different take on the characters.
- Track down Stephen McHattie’s 2008 film Pontypool if you want to see just how much range "Cousin Jimmy" actually has in the horror genre.
- Look for the DVD sets rather than streaming, as the music rights sometimes get wonky on digital platforms, changing the atmosphere of certain scenes.