eOne Brings New Dramatic Thriller Series CARDINAL to Canal + in France

Global studio Entertainment One (eOne) announced today the hit new dramatic thriller series CARDINAL (season 1) has been sold to CANAL+ in France. Produced by Sienna Films and eOne in association with Bell Media's CTV, the compelling drama stars Golden Globe® nominee Billy Campbell (THE KILLING) and the multiple Genie Award-winning actress Karine Vanasse (REVENGE). The deal was brokered by Toby Melling, VP Sales, eOne Television International.

Season 1 of CARDINAL recently aired on C More in Scandinavia where it became the network's biggest foreign drama series. The series will premiere on the BBC in the UK later this year.

"We're delighted to have secured CANAL+ as the French broadcaster for CARDINAL season 1 as we head into MIPTV," commented Stuart Baxter, President, eOne Television International. "We're incredibly proud of this captivating series which is already gaining early success among international audiences."

CARDINAL is adapted from the award-winning novel Forty Words for Sorrow, the first of the John Cardinal Mysteries series, a series of six bestselling crime novels written by award-winning author Giles Blunt. 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. CARDINAL follows detectives John Cardinal (Campbell) and Lise Delorme (Vanasse) as they attempt to uncover the mystery of what happened to the young girl. But as the case grows in scope and horror, a dark secret from Cardinal's history threatens to derail the investigation.

Recently, CTV announced due to a breakthrough inaugural season, the network greenlit unprecedented second and third cycles of CARDINAL for broadcast in 2017/18. The order marks the first time CTV has ordered two consecutive seasons of a drama.

Season 2 of the show, will be filmed this summer in the northern Ontario cities of Sudbury and North Bay. The second season will be inspired by the third novel in Blunt's series, Black Fly Season.

The show's third season is to begin filming this fall and will be inspired by the fourth and fifth titles in the book series, By the Time You Read This and Crime Machine.

CARDINAL is created and produced by Sienna Films, and eOne in association with Bell Media's 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 handles international rights for the series.