CTV Orders Third Season of Hit Original Drama MOTIVE

CTV Orders Third Season of Hit Original Drama MOTIVE


- Canada's #2 homegrown drama grows 22% in Season 2 with an average
audience of 1.3 million viewers -



- New episodes continue tomorrow, with the Season 2 finale next
Thursday, May 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT -



- Encore episodes of MOTIVE's second season to air Wednesdays this
summer in simulcast with ABC -



To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/1j7oWf6


TORONTO, May 21, 2014 /CNW/ - CTV announced today the order of a third
instalment of its hit original crime drama MOTIVE(@MotiveTV) from Foundation Features and Lark Productions. The announcement comes
in advance of tomorrow night's all-new episode which leads into the
gripping second season finale, next Thursday, May 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV. With a "whydunit" format that reveals the killer and victim at
the start of each episode, 13 additional one-hour episodes have been
ordered with production on Season 3 set to begin this fall in
Vancouver.



In its stand-alone Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT timeslot on CTV and CTV GO, MOTIVE has an average audience of 1.3 million viewers, a 22% increase over
Season 1. The series has also delivered double-digit audience growth in
the key A18-49 and A25-54 demos, and has had two series-high audiences
this season. MOTIVE ends its season as the second most-watched Canadian drama of the season
(following CTV's SAVING HOPE), and the third most-watched Canadian
series overall (with MASTERCHEF CANADA).


**Media Note** Photography for MOTIVE is available online at BellMediaPR.ca


"Enjoying a strong run with a compelling sophomore season, MOTIVE has not only continued to build its audience, but has also built on the
strength of its characters and delivered storylines that are
captivating viewers week after week," said Phil King, President - CTV,
Sports, an d Entertainment Programming. "We look forward to again
working with the amazing production team to bring together what
promises to be an incredible third season."



Starring Kristin Lehman, Louis Ferreira, Brendan Penny, Warren Christie,
and Lauren Holly, MOTIVE is from Daniel Cerone (DEXTER, THE MENTALIST) and Executive Producers
Louise Clark (CORNER GAS) and Rob Merilees (Capote). The series received four 2014 Canadian Screen Awards nominations for
its inaugural season, including nods in the Best Dramatic Series and
Best Direction in a Dramatic Series categories.



"Our CTV partnership continues to be exceptional, and this opportunity
to develop the series into a third season will allow us to continue to
pursue creative excellence and to grow our audience," said Executive
Producers Rob Merilees and Louise Clark. "We're looking forward to
Season 3 with Angie and the team, and consider ourselves fortunate to
be working alongside our exceptional cast and crew in Vancouver once
again."



Heading into the final two episodes of Season 2, CTV will also air
encore presentations of MOTIVE's second season in simulcast with ABC beginning tonight at 10 p.m.
ET/PT. Viewers can also catch up on full episodes of MOTIVE on demand at CTV.ca and on the CTV GO app.



In tomorrow night's all-new episode of MOTIVE entitled "Kiss of Death" (Thursday, May 22 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV), when a best-selling murder mystery author dies from a rare but
extremely potent toxin, Detectives Flynn (Kristin Lehman) and Vega
(Louis Ferreira) must determine fan from foe. The investigation
intensifies when a prime suspect turns out to be a second victim.
Further complicating matters, prosecutor Samantha Turner (guest star
Laura Mennell) pushes Angie for the truth about her past with Sergeant
Cross (Warren Christie), and Angie receives a pleasant surprise.
Meanwhile, Detective Lucas (Brendan Penny) struggles with his marriage.



In the second season finale of MOTIVE entitled "For You I Die" (Thursday, May 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV), with the League of Nations trial looming, a major case from
Detective Flynn (Lehman) and Sergeant Cross' (Christie) past
resurfaces, and the fallout causes anguish for both. Angie knows they
must come clean about their past, but is she ready to face her future?
Detective Vega (Ferreira) offers his support, but even he has his
limits. At the same time, a current case hits a personal note with
Cross who disobeys a direct order not to get involved. And Detective
Lucas (Penny) and Officer Sung (Valerie Tian) open the door for the
possibility of romance.


MOTIVE is produced by Foundation Features and Lark Productions in association
with Bell Media. Executive Producers are Daniel Cerone (DEXTER, THE
MENTALIST), Louise Clark (CORNER GAS, THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF
VANCOUVER), Rob Merilees (Capote, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus), Erin Haskett (THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF VANCOUVER), Rob LaBelle
(MENTAL), Lindsay Macadam (Battle in Seattle), and Dennis Heaton (CALL ME FITZ, Fido). The series was developed by James Thorpe and Daniel Cerone is the series
creator. MOTIVE is distributed internationally by NBC Universal International.



Michele McMahon is Production Executive, Drama, Bell Media. Trish
Williams is Director, Drama, Independent Production, Bell Media. Corrie
Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Mike
Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks. Phil
King is President - CTV, Sports, an d Entertainment Programming.


SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Twitter:
@CTV_PR
@CTV_Television
@MotiveTV
@LarkTV
@kristinlehman1 - Kristin Lehman
@TheLuigi_F - Louis Ferreira
@HWarrenChristie - Warren Christie
@LaurenHolly - Lauren Holly @BrendanJPenny - Brendan Penny

Facebook:
facebook.com/ctv

About Bell Media Independent Production

Bell Media has commissioned some of Canada's most-watched and
most-acclaimed original programming, working with the best Canadian
independent producers in the country. Hit CTV series include ratings
success stories SAVING HOPE, THE LISTENER, MOTIVE, and THE AMAZING RACE
CANADA, the record-breaking, Canadian-produced complementary version of
the hit international series. New to CTV in 2014 are hit international
format MASTERCHEF CANADA and multi-cam office comedy SPUN OUT, one of
the most-watched new comedies of the season. Among the scripted series
on Bell Media pay and specialty channels are the two-time
Emmy®-nominated hit DEGRASSI, the internationally acclaimed ORPHAN
BLACK, the most-watched original series in Space history BITTEN,
Bravo's most-watched new drama 19-2, TRANSPORTER: THE SERIES, and
upcoming dramas SENSITIVE SKIN, and KILLJOYS. Bell Media specialty
channels are also home to hit factual series HIGHWAY THRU HELL and
CANADA'S WORST DRIVER, among others. In 2013, Bell Media ordered 27
original Canadian series and currently has 84 projects in various
stages of development.


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 12 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 CTV

CTV

CONTACT: Tonia Addison, CTV Networks, 416.384.2194 or tonia.addison@bellmedia.ca
Christy Sullivan, CTV Networks, 416.384.3624 or christy.sullivan@bellmedia.ca


-------
Profile: intent