CTV has ordered the serialized, six-part, one-hour drama series Cardinal (working title) from Toronto-based Sienna Films and Entertainment One (eOne) – the cinematic murder mystery is based on the John Cardinal Mysteries, a series of six bestselling crime novels written by Ontario native and award-winning author Giles Blunt. This is CTV’s first-ever series adaption from a novel and it will premiere as part of CTV’s 2016/17 schedule. Production set to begin in February 2016, and casting for Cardinal will be announced soon.
Cardinal was first put into development by CTV in 2011. The series adaptation is developed for television and written by Canadian Screen Award-winner Aubrey Nealon (Orphan Black, Saving Hope), who also serves as an Executive Producer and Showrunner, directed by the award-winning Montréal native Daniel Grou (19-2, Tu M-Aimes Tu?), and is executive produced by Sienna Films duo Julia Sereny and Jennifer Kawaja (Combat Hospital).
“We have been searching for an engaging serialized drama that would create a weekly must-see appointment for a mass audience,” said Mike Cosentino, Senior Vice-President of Programming at CTV Networks and CraveTV, in a press release. “We believe Cardinal will deliver on all fronts for CTV and become a must-watch title for CraveTV.”
“We are thrilled to be producing CTV’s first original serialized drama in partnership with eOne,” said Jennifer Kawaja, Co-President of Sienna Films. “We have a great team coming together to bring the Northern Ontario setting and this story with universal appeal to television.”
Cardinal is adapted from the award-winning novel Forty Words for Sorrow, the first of the John Cardinal Mysteries series. The series begins with the discovery of Katie Pine, a missing 13-year-old whose body is discovered in the shaft-head of an abandoned mine. The series follows detective John Cardinal as he attempts to uncover the mystery of what happened to the young girl. At the same time, unbeknownst to Cardinal, he comes under investigation by his new partner, Lise Delorme, a tough investigator in her own right.
Photo: Penguin Random House
