TORONTO – CTV has greenlit a second and third cycle of its new dramatic thriller Cardinal for broadcast in 2017/18, marking the first time that the broadcaster has ordered two consecutive seasons of a drama.
Produced by Sienna Films and Entertainment One (eOne) in association with CTV, and commissioned for French-language Canadian broadcast by Super Écran, season 1 of the murder mystery has averaged 1.2 million viewers since its premiere in January, says CTV. Across all airings and on CTV and Super Écran, more than 3.6 million unique viewers watched episodes of Cardinal weekly.
The season 1 finale will air Wednesday at 10:00 PM ET/PT on CTV and CTV Go, and the cast and crew of Cardinal are set to tweet live at 10:00 PM ET responding to viewer questions live throughout the episode. Cardinal is also available on demand on CTV Go and on CTV-branded VoD channels.
The two new self-contained cycles, each consisting of six, one-hour episodes, will once again star Billy Campbell (The Killing) and Karine Vanasse (Revenge) and be filmed in Sudbury and North Bay, ON. Cardinal is based on books in the John Cardinal Mysteries series written by Ontario native and award-winning author Giles Blunt.
"In just six episodes Cardinal has grabbed the attention of viewers and critics alike, cementing its position as the event series of the season and landmark Canadian television," said CTV and Specialty SVP Mike Cosentino, in the news release. "In simultaneously ordering two additional cycles, we are showcasing our high confidence in the creative team, and look forward to launching the next iteration of this intelligent character-driven drama."
Season 1 of Cardinal has been licensed to BBC in the U.K., C More in Scandinavia and Calle 13 in Spain by eOne, and has several active negotiations underway.
www.CTV.ca
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