– Series premiere currently has attracted an average 1.3 million viewers –
– Episode two of CARDINAL airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT onCTV and CTV GO –
– Debut of CARDINAL trends on Twitter in Canada with hashtag #Cardinal –
–CARDINAL's Karine Vanasse hosts tweet chat at 9 p.m. ET in advance of tonight's episode airing at 10 p.m. ET–
– Series also available on demand on CTV GO and on CTV-branded VOD channels –
– New episodes of CARDINAL will stream one day earlier on CraveTVTM in FIRST LOOK strategy –– To tweet this release: http://bmpr.ca/2jvBWYl –
"CARDINAL is a gripping, superbly made crime drama. At times breathtaking, it is so good it is landmark Canadian TV." - John Doyle, The Globe and Mail
"It's riveting. … likely Campbell's best work and worthy of award recognition" - Michael Korb, Zap2It
"… visually stunning" - Bill Harris, Postmedia
"…buzzy…" - Victoria Ahearn, Canadian Press
TORONTO, Feb. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - With five days of PVR playback data now available, CTV confirmed today that the series debut of its Wednesday night event series CARDINAL is the most-watched debut of any Canadian series in the 2016/17 broadcast season with total viewers, A25-54, and A18-34. CARDINAL premiered as the most-watched program on Canadian television on the night of Jan. 25, and currently has an average audience of 1.3 million viewers with two days of data to still be reported.
Building on its Wednesday night success, last Saturday night's encore of the premiere episode is averaging over half a million viewers on CTV. More than 4 million unique viewers have now seen the debut episode of CARDINAL across all airings on CTV and Super Écran.
CARDINAL premiered to critical acclaim and social media buzz, with the hashtag #Cardinal trending on Twitter in Canada in the 24 hours surrounding the premiere.*
What viewers on Twitter are saying:
@Virtual_Writer: I'm impressed #Cardinal - visually stunning - perfect. Our Wallander. Canadian stories! Canadian TV!
@EricaBlogs: Totally digging the feel of #Cardinal. Already wishing it was more than 6 episodes. @karinevanasse @WOCampbell @Cardinal
@DwightVJackson: Hooked on this first episode. Very well done – great acting & script. Nice twists & turns already. Thanks!
@Lauda_Lewes: Wow wow @Cardinal on @CTV_Television #mustwatch #GreatTV Human characters, real setting, surprise twist WATCH THIS SHOW!
In advance of tonight's broadcast of CARDINAL, series lead Karine Vanasse (REVENGE) will be participating in a live Tweet Chat, at 9 p.m. ET. Starring in the series as the driven and intuitive Detective Lise Delorme, Vanasse will speak to her experience on the series and what Canadians can expect this season, answering viewer questions live across the country. Fans can follow along on Twitter: @karinevanasse, @fityourstyle, #Cardinal.
* Media Note ** – Download photos of CARDINAL at BellMedia.ca/PR.
Following an all-new episode of CRIMINAL MINDS (tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO), this week's episode of CARDINAL (available as of last night on CraveTVTM First-Look, and airing tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO) is entitled "Delorme". Cardinal (Billy Campbell, THE KILLING) and Delorme (Karine Vanasse, REVENGE) attend Todd Curry's autopsy in Toronto. It's a stressful balancing act for Delorme, trying to help Cardinal catch a murderer while feeling the pressure from her Special Investigations Sergeant Malcolm Musgrave (David Richmond-Peck, ORPHAN BLACK) to ramp up her investigation into her partner.
New episodes of CARDINAL will continue to receive a Canadian First Look on CraveTV, available to viewers the day before their broadcast premieres, with the first episode streaming now.
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. For Bell Media, Tom Hastings is Director, Drama, Independent Production; and Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production. Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, CTV and Specialty. Randy Lennox is President, Broadcasting and Content, Bell Media.
Source: Numeris. BYTD 2016-17 (Sep 19, 2016 - Jan 27, 2017).
Source: *Sysomos query geo-filtered to Canada: ("Cardinal" OR CardinalCTV OR @Cardinal OR #Cardinal OR "Karine Vanasse" OR "Billy Campbell" OR @WOCampbell OR @karinevanasse) AND NOT (Cardinals OR Pope OR Sin OR François OR Elder)
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Twitter:
@CTV_PR
@CTV_Television
@superecran
Billy Campbell – @WOCampbell
Karine Vanasse – @karinevanasse
Brendan Fletcher – @BrendanFletch1
Glen Gould – @glen_gould
David Richmond-Peck – @richmondpeck
Instagram:
Karine Vanasse – @karinevanasse
Glen Gould – @glengould
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/CTV
www.facebook.com/SuperEcran
About CTV
CTV is Canada's #1 private broadcaster. Featuring a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming, CTV has been Canada's most-watched television network for the past 15 years in a row. CTV is a division of Bell Media, Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, digital, and Out-of-Home. Bell Media is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. More information about CTV can be found on the network's website at CTV.ca.
SOURCE Bell Media
