Tag Archives: CTV

Cardinal

Links: Cardinal

2 Comments

From John Doyle of The Globe and Mail:

Link: John Doyle: New CTV series Cardinal is landmark Canadian TV
In part, it’s the use of the Canadian landscape that makes Cardinal landmark TV in this neck of the woods. It is steeped in the texture of “North,” it is character driven, but the characters are of this North, anchored in it, in every fibre of their being. Continue reading. 

From Bill Harris of Postmedia Network:

Blood seeps into the clear ice and white snow in new Canadian cop drama Cardinal
Nothing stands out like a cardinal in the cold Canadian winter.

If you’re lucky enough to see one at a bird feeder, or sitting in a snowy cedar, you know that they really are a marvel of nature. In the bleakness of January, how can something be that colourful?

Also attempting to stand out at this time of year is the new Canadian TV show Cardinal, which debuts Wednesday, Jan. 25 on CTV. Continue reading. 

From Brendan Kelly of the Montreal Gazette:

Karine Vanasse investigates new terrain in CTV’s Cardinal
“For the past few years, one of my goals was to do something in English Canada. It’s a difficult market, because they don’t do that many series. It’s great to do these shows in the States, but there was something about doing a show in English Canada that got me really excited.” Continue reading.

From Brad Wheeler of The Globe and Mail:

Actor Billy Campbell on Cardinal, the frozen wilds and the roles that matter most
“This is a specifically and definitively Canadian show. And I think it gives it a real heft. And it may sound trite to say this, but the environment is another character.

Maybe the main character in the whole story. It stands in nicely for the kind of frozen wilds of Cardinal’s heart.” Continue reading.

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Cardinal: Why Billy Campbell couldn’t pass on this role
“The script was so compelling that I really, really wanted to be a part of it. I have a tendency when I read something to imagine myself as a producer and I always read something with a question in the back of my mind of ‘would I cast myself in the part?’ I instantly saw myself in this part and saw the answer to that question being ‘yes.’” Continue reading.

From Tony Wong of the Toronto Star:

Cardinal could be The Killing for Canada
“We all felt we had this great chance to create that kind of incredible series, that we should really go for it. We all love those kinds of shows, and it takes time finding the right partnerships and the right property. I think CTV found something great to run with.” Continue reading.

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Cardinal, Featured

John Cardinal leaps from the page to TV in CTV’s excellent, atmospheric Cardinal

On paper, Detective John Cardinal is a man of few words. The central figure in Giles Blunt’s Cardinal book series prefers to keep his thoughts on investigations in his head, much to the dismay of his co-workers and partner, Lise Delorme. The fact Cardinal isn’t one to share his intuitions was a challenge actor Billy Campbell embraced.

“I love that kind of stuff, particularly because I have fewer lines to learn,” Campbell says with a laugh. “No, it’s this kind of brooding thing. [Director] Podz and I were talking [before production began] and he said, ‘If you could give one adjective to describe Cardinal, what would it be?’ I said, ‘tortured.’ And he said, ‘Exactly!’ And a lot of that is internal. I like all that stuff that’s between the lines and you don’t see or get a lot of that on television.”

Impressive in scope, beautifully filmed and impeccably cast, CTV’s six-part serialized drama Cardinal—debuting Wednesday on CTV and Thursday on Super Écran—breathes life to Blunt’s first Cardinal novel, Forty Words for Sorrow. Filmed in and around Sudbury, North Bay, Atikameksheng Anishnawbek in Northern Ontario and Toronto, the project stars Campbell as Blunt’s tortured hero, who is called upon to track down the killer of 13-year-old Katie Pine. His partner is Lise Delorme (Karine Vanasse), a recent transfer and someone Cardinal doesn’t trust. Additional cast includes Brendan Fletcher as Eric Fraser and Allie MacDonald as Edie Soames, a young couple in town; Deborah Hay as Cardinal’s wife Catherine; Glen Gould as officer Jerry Commanda; Kristen Thomson as Sergeant Noelle Dyson, Cardinal’s commanding officer; David Richmond Peck as Corporal Musgrave, an officer in charge of a tightly guarded investigation; Alanna Bale as Cardinal’s daughter Kelly; and Robert Naylor as Keith.

What executive producer and showrunner Aubrey Nealon (Orphan Black) and Podz (19-2) have done is successfully translate an atmospheric novel to the screen. You can feel the fear gripping the snowy community of Algonquin Bay after Katie’s body is found. Did a drifter commit the crime or someone in town? A washed-out colour palette, cold temperatures and chilling examination of the body all contribute to a feeling of dread, something that came off the page in waves.

“Giles was a big part of the project early on, and then he handed it off,” Nealon says during a break in filming. “As a fan of the novel, I respect his writing so much and wanted to be true to the novel while trying to find my own voice in it.” Some parts of Forty Words for Sorrow didn’t make it to the television series and other content was added. Nealon explains Cardinal’s internal monologue was vocalized through adding new characters and activating past cases referenced in the book and making them part of the current storyline.

“This is so different from writing Orphan Black because these characters were fleshed out and living and breathing [in the novels],” Nealon says. “I wanted to explore Delorme’s personal life a little bit more than happened in the books.” When it came to casting the lead role, Nealon was looking for someone with warmth and humanity that draws viewers in while also presenting a troubled side to him. They got it with Campbell. Pair that with Vanasse’s Delorme, a young, eager cop full of good intention, and the duo simply crackles on-screen.

“Lise made some choices in the past that were safer for her,” Vanasse says. “She is finding in this new role that this is something that she’s always wanted to do. The closer that she gets to Cardinal, working on the case, he moves her. She recognizes how invested he is in the case and follows her instincts more and more.”

Cardinal airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET beginning Jan. 26 on Super Écran.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Corner Gas

More Gas in the Tank: The Comedy Network greenlights animated reboot of Canadian comedy Corner Gas

From a media release:

– New adventures, new episodes: pre-production begins January 2017 in Vancouver and Toronto –
– Animated world allows Brent Butt’s comedy to be as limitless as his imagination –
– New series brings new opportunities for brand integration –

Life in Dog River is about to get a lot more animated! Following a trailblazing six-season run and a blockbuster 2014 movie, The Comedy Network announced today it has greenlit an all-new animated version of the acclaimed, smash-hit comedy franchise CORNER GAS from 335 Productions and Vérité Films. The 13-episode, half-hour series for The Comedy Network’s 2017-2018 broadcast season is the latest original 4K production from Bell Media. Re-imagined by CORNER GAS creator and star Brent Butt, who released a sneak peek of his animated-character yesterday, the all-new animated CORNER GAS delivers its revered brand of comedy, but this time in an animated Dog River where anything is possible.

The new series comes from CORNER GAS executive producers Brent Butt and David Storey from Prairie Pantoons (335 Productions), and Virginia Thompson from Moving Mountoons (Vérité Films), in association with The Comedy Network. Animation will be produced by Prairie Pantoons, Moving Mountoons and Smiley Guy Studios. The series begins pre-production in January 2017 in Vancouver and Toronto, with the main cast confirmed to return. Producers also confirmed today that beloved character Emma will live on in the animated world with the blessing of the late Janet Wright’s family.

Brent (Brent Butt), Lacey (Gabrielle Miller), Oscar (Eric Peterson), Hank (Fred Ewanuick), Davis (Lorne Cardinal), Karen (Tara Spencer-Nairn), and Wanda (Nancy Robertson) are all getting a cartoon makeover as the main cast returns to Dog River for CORNER GAS. Casting for the voice of Emma is currently underway.

CORNER GAS brings together Butt’s comedy style and love for comic books. Before pursuing his passion as a stand-up comedian, Butt and a friend started a publishing company – Windwolf Graphics. His first comic, Existing Earth, was nominated for a Golden Eagle Award. Windwolf Graphics published two issues before Butt hit the stand-up circuit full time. Butt’s passion for comics lived on through his work, a common theme in the CORNER GAS franchise. Bringing CORNER GAS into the animated world allows Butt’s comedy to be as limitless as his imagination.

The new animated CORNER GAS also presents a vast new world of opportunity for branded integration. With Dog River open to expansion through animation, and beyond, brands are able to explore the environment in new ways.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Cardinal, Featured

Photo gallery: First look at CTV’s Cardinal

1 Comment

At long last, Cardinal has got a debut date. And some pretty kick-ass images too. CTV announced Season 1 of the drama starring Billy Campbell and Karine Vanasse debuts Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the network.

Based on the Giles Blunt’s award-winning novel, Forty Words for Sorrow, the cast also includes Brendan Fletcher as Eric Fraser; Allie MacDonald as Edie Soames; Deborah Hay as Cardinal’s wife, Catherine; Glen Gould as fellow officer Jerry Commanda; Kristen Thomson as Sergeant Noelle Dyson, Cardinal’s commanding officer; David Richmond Peck as Corporal Musgrave, an officer in charge of a tightly guarded investigation; Alanna Bale as Cardinal’s daughter Kelly; and Robert Naylor as Keith.

Take a look at the gorgeous photos and let us know what you think!

[slideshow_deploy id=’38340′]

 

Season 1 of Cardinal debuts Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Cardinal

CTV’s Cardinal anchors mid-season lineup with Jan. 25 premiere

From a media release:

A harsh winter is in store for Canadians, as CTV’s gripping new original series CARDINAL arrives on Jan. 25, it was announced today. Strategically scheduled in the same timeslot as this fall’s most-watched new series DESIGNATED SURVIVOR, CARDINAL airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO, following a CraveTV FIRST LOOK on Tuesday, Jan. 24. The series also airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET beginning Jan. 26 on Super Écran.

From Entertainment One (eOne) and Sienna Films, CARDINAL is directed by award-winning Montréal director Daniel Grou, aka Podz (19-2, MINUIT LE SOIR), CARDINAL was adapted for television by Canadian Screen Award-winner Aubrey Nealon (ORPHAN BLACK, SAVING HOPE) from award-winning author Giles Blunt’s John Cardinal Mysteries series. The six-part, bone-chilling drama follows Detective John Cardinal (Billy Campbell, THE KILLING) on a deadly hunt for a vicious killer in small Northern Ontario town.

Headlining CTV’s action-packed midseason schedule that also includes the return of MASTERCHEF CANADA, the final season of SAVING HOPE, and the series premieres of big-buzz new series TRAINING DAY and TIME AFTER TIME, CARDINAL is squarely positioned to kick off the year as one of the most-anticipated drama debuts of the season.

Additional midseason programming and premiere dates will announced in the coming weeks.

Featuring Golden Globe® nominee Billy Campbell (THE KILLING) in the title role, CARDINAL also stars multiple Genie Award-winning actress Karine Vanasse (REVENGE) as his rookie partner, Detective Lise Delorme. The series also stars Brendan Fletcher (The Revenant) as Eric Fraser and Allie MacDonald (YOUNG DRUNK PUNK) as Edie Soames, a young couple in the town. Also appearing are Deborah Hay (The Anniversary) as Cardinal’s wife Catherine; Glen Gould (Rhymes for Young Ghouls) as fellow officer Jerry Commanda; Kristen Thomson (Away from Her) as Sergeant Noelle Dyson, Cardinal’s commanding officer; David Richmond Peck (ORPHAN BLACK) as Corporal Musgrave, an officer in charge of a tightly guarded investigation; Alanna Bale (PRIME RADICALS) as Cardinal’s daughter Kelly; and Robert Naylor (19-2) as Keith.

In the premiere episode (available for media review here), entitled “Cardinal” (Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV GO and Thursday, Jan. 26 at 9 p.m. ET on Super Écran), viewers first meet Cardinal (Billy Campbell) after he’s been demoted for a hunch about a case that he wouldn’t let go. But he is brought back to the Homicide Unit when the body of missing 13-year-old Katie Pine is discovered, proving his instincts correct. As the series unfolds, back on the case, Cardinal’s search for her murderer soon becomes an all-consuming race to stay ahead of a serial killer. Meanwhile, he must manage his own precarious family issues and secrets, and keep a watchful eye on his new partner, Detective Lise Delorme (Karine Vanasse), who he believes may have her own secret agenda.

CARDINAL is adapted from the award-winning novel Forty Words for Sorrow, the first of the John Cardinal Mysteries, a series of six, best-selling crime novels written by Ontario native and award-winning author Giles Blunt. The gripping murder mystery was shot in Winter 2016 in Sudbury, Ont., North Bay, Ont., Atikameksheng Anishnawbek in Northern Ontario, and Toronto.

CARDINAL is produced by Sienna Films and eOne in association with CTV, and commissioned for French-language Canadian broadcast by Super Écran. CARDINAL is distributed worldwide by eOne. Executive Producers are Julia Sereny and Jennifer Kawaja (COMBAT HOSPITAL) for Sienna Films. The series is also executive produced by Showrunner Aubrey Nealon, who adapted the series for television, and Director Daniel Grou, aka Podz.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail