CTV Orders Fourth Season of Hit Original Drama MOTIVE In Advance of Season 3 Finale, June 7

– The strength of Canada's homegrown hit drama continues in Season 3 with an average audience of 1.3 million viewers –
– Season 3 becomes most-watched season yet in key A18-34 demo–
– Gripping Season 3 finale airs Sunday, June 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT –

To tweet this release: http://bmpr.ca/1RFOGD3

TORONTO, June 1, 2015 /CNW/ - CTV announced today it has ordered a fourth instalment of its hit original crime drama MOTIVE (@MotiveTV) from Foundation Features and Lark Productions for the 2015/16 broadcast season. The announcement comes in advance of this weekend's edge-of-your-seat Season 3 finale on Sunday, June 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO. With an additional 13 one-hour episodes on order, bringing the series total to 52 episodes, Season 4 of the "whydunit" drama begins production this fall in Vancouver.

In addition to recently being nominated for a whopping 21 Leo Awards, MOTIVE was CTV's top nominee for the 2015 Canadian Screen Awards, garnering nine nominations, including for Best Dramatic Series and for the Golden Screen Award for Best Drama/Comedy Series. With an average audience of 1.3 million viewers, MOTIVE is among the Top 3 most-watched Canadian dramas this season. With growth among viewers A18-34, Season 3 becomes the most-watched season yet for the demo.

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

"MOTIVE has captivated audiences around the country, building a strong and loyal fan base over its three seasons," said Mike Cosentino, Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks and CraveTV. "The hit crime drama continues to play an integral role in our lineup and we look forward to continuing our relationship with the amazing production team and cast to deliver a compelling fourth season."

"We are really excited by this opportunity to bring another great season of MOTIVE to audiences with our wonderful partners at CTV," said Executive Producers Rob Merilees and Louise Clark. "Our outstanding writing team, led by showrunner Dennis Heaton, is already hard at work exploiting the potential of further developing our established characters, relationships and novel cases. Our superb cast and crew are set to deliver a stellar Season 4."  

Like all other episodes this season, the Season 3 finale of MOTIVE will receive a first-look on CraveTV^TM, available to fans one day before the broadcast premiere. Viewers can also watch the finale live on CTV GO, and on demand following its broadcast premiere on CTV GO and  CTV.ca. All past episodes of the series are available now to stream on CraveTV.

This explosive season of MOTIVE followed Detective Angie Flynn (Kristin Lehman) and team as they brought another group of killers to justice, unlocking the motives behind each victim's murder. Now, with just her investigation of Neville Montgomery (guest star Victor Garber, DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW) left weighing on her mind and career, and those of her team -- and her car bombed in plain view, there's no denying there's someone after Angie. Always an asset to her investigations, Detective Oscar Vega (Louis Ferreira) faces his own preoccupations, as he can no longer outrun the gravity of his looming health concerns, which proves a distraction for all.

In Sunday night's powerhouse finale entitled "A Problem Like Maria" (Sunday, June 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO), Detectives Angie Flynn, Oscar Vega, and Brian Lucas (Brendan Penny) are determined to prove that Neville Montgomery is behind the murder of Maria Snow (Luisa D'Oliveira, 50/50). Although all signs are pointing to Neville's son, Robert Montgomery (Richard De Klerk, Repeaters) as the primary suspect, the team knows there must be something that will reveal the truth behind the events leading up to Maria's death.

MOTIVE also stars Lauren Holly as the team's lead medical examiner, Dr. Betty Rogers, and Warren Christie as Sergeant Mark Cross.

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, HIGH MOON), 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), who continues to serve as Showrunner. Daniel Cerone is the series creator. The series is distributed internationally by NBC Universal International.

For Bell Media, Michele McMahon and Kathleen Meek are Production Executives; Tom Hastings is Director, Independent Production; and Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production. Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks. Phil King is President – CTV, Sports, and 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, MOTIVE, the record-breaking THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, and MASTERCHEF CANADA. Among the scripted series on Bell Media pay and specialty channels are the three-time Emmy®-nominated hit DEGRASSI, the internationally acclaimed ORPHAN BLACK, the most-watched original series in Space history BITTEN, Bravo's most-watched original drama 19-2, award-winning dramedy SENSITIVE SKIN, the upcoming adventure series KILLJOYS, and upcoming cult comedy, LETTERKENNY. Bell Media specialty channels are also home to hit factual series HIGHWAY THRU HELL, COLD WATER COWBOYS, and CANADA'S WORST DRIVER, among others.

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 13 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

Tonia Addison, CTV Networks, 416.384.2194 or [email protected]; Allie Page, CTV Networks, 416.384.4596 or [email protected]