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Production underway on second cycle of Cardinal for CTV and Super Ecran

From a media release:

CTV and Super Écran, alongside producers Sienna Films and Entertainment One (eOne), announced today that production is underway on the second cycle of CARDINAL, the #1 new Canadian series of the year starring Golden Globe® nominee Billy Campbell (THE KILLING) and the multiple Genie Award-winning actress Karine Vanasse (REVENGE). Inspired by Black Fly Season, the third novel in the John Cardinal Mysteries series written by Ontario native and award-winning author Giles Blunt, the second cycle of the networks’ serialized drama is shooting six, hour-long episodes in North Bay, Ont. and Toronto before premiering as part of CTV and Super Écran’s 2017/18 season.

Cycle 1 of CARDINAL was the most-watched new Canadian series and ranked among the Top 10 new series overall that launched on Canadian television in the 2016/17 season, averaging 1.1 million viewers weekly. Following the success of the first season, the series received an unprecedented two-season renewal.

eOne has successfully licensed the series internationally with the first season of CARDINAL having aired on CANAL+ in France, Calle 13 in Spain, and C More in Scandinavia, where it became the network’s biggest foreign drama series. Cycle 1 of CARDINAL will premiere June 3 on BBC in the U.K. and June 16 on Hulu in the U.S.

CARDINAL picks up several months after the events of Cycle 1. It’s early summer in Algonquin Bay and the blackflies aren’t the only ones out for blood. Detectives John Cardinal (Campbell) and Lise Delorme (Vanasse) find themselves with a strange case on their hands involving a young woman with a gunshot wound to the head. The investigation quickly takes a turn as Cardinal and Delorme uncover a series of disturbing, ritualistic killings that may be connected to their young victim. Cardinal must work to identify the young woman before her attacker strikes again.

Joining Billy Campbell and Karine Vanasse in Cycle 2 of CARDINAL is an all-star supporting cast that includes Bruce Ramsay (19-2) as Ray Northwind, Alex Paxton-Beesley (PURE) as Red, Jonathan Keltz (REIGN) as Kevin Tait, Kevin Hanchard (ORPHAN BLACK) as Detective Alan Clegg, and Kris Holden-Ried (VIKINGS) as Scott Lasalle. Returning cast members include Deborah Hay (The Anniversary) as Catherine Cardinal, Glen Gould (Rhymes for Young Ghouls) as Det. Jerry Commanda, Kristen Thomson (Away From Her) as Staff Sergeant Noelle Dyson, David Richmond Peck (ORPHAN BLACK) as Corporal Malcolm Musgrave, and Alanna Bale (PRIME RADICALS) as Kelly Cardinal.

CARDINAL is produced by Sienna Films and eOne in association with CTV, with the financial participation of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, the Canada Media Fund, and the Cogeco Program Development Fund; and with the assistance of the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. Super Écran has commissioned the series for French-language Canadian broadcast. eOne distributes the series worldwide.

CARDINAL is adapted from the John Cardinal Mysteries series, a series of six bestselling crime novels written by Giles Blunt. Cycle 2 of CARDINAL is written by Sarah Dodd (MOTIVE, RANSOM), who also serves as an Executive Producer; and co-executive producers Jennica Harper (MOTIVE) and Alison Bingeman (19-2). Co-Executive Producer Jeff Renfroe (ROGUE) directs all six episodes. The drama is executive produced by Sienna Films duo Julia Sereny and Jennifer Kawaja (COMBAT HOSPITAL). For eOne, Jocelyn Hamilton and Tecca Crosby serve as Executive Producers.

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Cardinal, Featured, Motive, Podcast

TV Eh B Cs podcast 66 — A Cardinal Point with Jennica Harper

Jennica Harper is a Vancouver-based TV writer/producer. Recent credits include Season 2 of Cardinal for CTV, the ABC thriller Somewhere Between and the fourth and final season of Motive. Jennica also wrote and produced on the hit kids comedies Some Assembly Required for YTV and Netflix for which she won a WGC Screenwriting Award, and Mr. Young for YTV and Disney XD.

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Cardinal, Featured

Cardinal lands in “Catherine’s” arms

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If you thought last week’s episode was hectic, the season finale of Cardinal includes just as much important detail. I will do my best to try and cover it all.

Tonight’s episode—written by Aubrey Nealon and directed by Daniel Grou—opens in the aftermath of Eric’s (Brendan Fletcher) death from last week. With any lead as to Keith’s (Robert Naylor) whereabouts dying with Eric, Keith’s family is preparing for the worst possible news: that he is dead and Cardinal (Billy Campbell) is undergoing an internal department debriefing since their assailant died in police pursuit.

Meanwhile, Delorme (Karine Vanasse) is busy tracing the ties between Tammy Lindstrom’s (Fiona Highet) frequent stays at the motel and Cardinal, and the paperwork reveals the connection. Lise tearfully puts John on notice: she is filing her report listing Cardinal as allegedly guilty of corruption in connection with the botched Corbett case from four years ago. Cardinal denies nothing, stating: “You do what you have to do,” but asks she hold off so that he may first speak with Dorothy Pine (Gail Maurice). Delorme agrees to wait until that afternoon, but still something does not add up. Lise meets with Tammy to get her end of the story and Tammy lets slip that she knows about Cardinal’s wife, Catherine (Deborah Hay). Now why would a cop discuss his wife whilst acting undercover?

Back at Gran’s house, Gran (Amanda Smith) is watching the local news where she learns of Eric’s involvement in the local murders. As there is no love lost between Edie (Allie MacDonald) and Gran, Edie takes care of that loose end.

Cardinal himself is also troubled by a loose end … the last remaining piece of the puzzle: the meds. John stops in to visit with Sergeant Dyson (Kristen Thomson) and spots the inventory list from Eric’s van. Included is an empty shopping bag from a local pharmacy. Curious, Cardinal heads to the mall and drops in at Southridge Pharmacy, inquiring if any pharmaceuticals have gone missing. He instructs the pharmacist (Jeff Clark) to recount the triazolam, and sure enough five tablets are missing. The pharmacist names his employee Edie Soames as the culprit.

Edie, it seems, cannot catch a break. She discovers Keith is missing from the trunk of her car. This precipitates a visit to Cardinal’s home. However that goes wrong too. Instead of Cardinal, she is received by Kelly (Alana Bale). Feigning depression, Edie talks her way into Cardinal’s home and then holds Kelly her prisoner until Cardinal arrives.

Cardinal, armed with probable cause, searches Gran’s house. He locates Gran’s body and calls in to headquarters for a full investigative team. Exiting the property, he hears a clanging from the garage and investigates to find KEITH! Keith is still alive and Cardinal rushes him to the hospital.

This leaves one major loose end in the Wendigo Island case: Edie Soames. Dyson orders Cardinal home, where he finds Edie holding his daughter at gunpoint. His own service revolver in the custody of the department, he must somehow save his daughter. Edie shoots Cardinal twice and threatens to take Kelly in retaliation for losing Eric. But Delorme, needing to speak to Cardinal once more before filing her report, shows up in time to take Edie out.

We cut to the hospital room where Cardinal is recovering and Delorme questions him about Catherine’s involvement with the Corbett case. Turns out, Catherine, suffering a psychotic event, attempted to contact her husband, but inadvertently tipped off Corbett’s man and blew Cardinal’s cover. Cardinal has been taking the fall ever since to protect his wife. When confronted with the truth, John admits his guilt for not being there for his wife when she needed him. Delorme then reports to Musgrave (David Richmond-Peck) and clears Cardinal’s name. Both cases are closed with neat little bows.

The final loose end? Josh “Mr. Geology” (Alden Adair) and Lise. Josh made one more attempt to resuscitate his relationship with Lise, but to no avail. Alas, thank goodness, Lise returns home after the case on Cardinal is closed to find he has moved out.

So that is it folks! Talk about a roller coaster. But, no worries Cardinal fans, we close out this inaugural season with the news that CTV has renewed Cardinal for TWO more seasons! This is fabulous news! Grou has done a magnificent job with this production. Live tweeting last week, I said, “This is not amazing TV ‘for Canada’, this is amazing TV.” I will hold to that. To think that in six episodes Grou and Nealon were able to pull off so many storylines so seamlessly and beautifully filmed is fantastic. The attention to detail, the consistency between takes, and the chemistry between all of the cast members was superb! Particularly the chemistry between Campbell and Vanasse; initially a tenuous partnership, the bond was truly established tonight!  I also have to give a shout out to music composer Todor Kobokov, whose work was so critical for setting the mood for this series! I cannot wait to see what all of you bring in Season 2!

What have you thought of Season 1 of Cardinal? Comment below!

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Cardinal

CTV greenlights two more seasons of Cardinal, Canada’s most-watched Canadian drama

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From a media release:

After a breakthrough inaugural season, CTV announced today it has greenlit unprecedented second and third cycles of its hit new dramatic thriller, CARDINAL for broadcast in 2017/18. The order marks the first time CTV 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, an additional two self-contained cycles, each consisting of six, one-hour episodes, have been ordered. Both series stars, Billy Campbell (THE KILLING) and Karine Vanasse (REVENGE), return for Seasons 2 and 3.

Cycles 2 and 3 will be filmed once again in Sudbury and North Bay and will be based on books in the John Cardinal Mysteries series written by Ontario native and award-winning author Giles Blunt. Season 2 will be shot this coming summer and is inspired by the third novel in the series, Black Fly Season. Set to shoot in Fall 2017, Season 3 is inspired by the 4th and 5thnovels in the series, By the Time You Read This and Crime Machine. As with the first cycle, each additional season will be a self-contained original adaptation inspired by the stories of each novel.

Season 1 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.

Since its premiere in January, CARDINAL, a critical and ratings success, has averaged 1.2 million viewers, making it the most-watched new Canadian program of the 2016/17 broadcast season and the country’s most-watched original drama. Across all airings and on CTV and Super Écran, more than 3.6 million unique viewers watch episodes of CARDINAL weekly. Viewers looking to catch all of Season 1 thrills and chills can catch full episodes of CARDINALon CTV.ca, CTV GO, CraveTVTM, and on CTV-branded VOD channels.

Cycle 1 of CARDINAL is adapted from the award-winning novel Forty Words for Sorrow, the first of Giles Blunt’s John Cardinal Mysteries, a series of six, best-selling Canadian crime novels. Starring Billy Campbell as Detective John Cardinal and Karine Vanasse as Detective Lise Delorme, Season 1 of the murder mystery was shot in Sudbury, Ont., North Bay, Ont., Atikameksheng Anishnawbek in Northern Ontario, and Toronto.

Cast and crew are set to live tweet throughout tomorrow’s broadcast of CARDINAL, responding to viewer questions live across the country as Season 1 comes to its conclusion. Fans can follow along on Twitter with the handle @Cardinal and hashtag #Cardinal.

In the climactic Season 1 finale of CARDINAL entitled “Catherine”, (available tonight as a CraveTVTM FIRST LOOK, and airing tomorrow at 10 p.m. ET/PTon CTV and CTV GO), Cardinal realizes that Eric wasn’t working alone. Meanwhile, Delorme must decide what to do when she finally finds the answers she was looking for about Cardinal’s dark past.

CARDINAL is produced by Sienna Films and eOne in association with CTV, and commissioned for French-language Canadian broadcast by Super Écran with the financial participation of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, the Canada Media Fund and the Cogeco Production Program, and with the assistance of the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit.

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