ABC Picks Up Canadian Thriller Drama ‘Motive’ For Summer
After swiftly scrapping planned summer drama series Weird Desk last month, ABC has picked up another original drama for next summer, Canadian import Motive, from former Dexter and The Mentalist exec producer Daniel Cerone. The 13-episode CTV series focuses not on who did the crime, but why the crime was committed in the first place. The killer and victim are identified at the beginning of each episode, with the crime then explored via stylized flashbacks which piece together the connection between the two characters and what drove the killer to commit murder. In Canada, the series will premiere in the coveted post-Super Bowl slot this Sunday. Motive stars Kristin Lehman (The Killing), Louis Ferreira (Rookie Blue), Lauren Holly (NCIS), Roger Cross (Arrow), Brendan Penny and Cameron Bright. The series was created by Cerone who executive produces with Louise Clark, Rob Merilees, Erin Haskett, Rob LaBelle, Lindsay Macadam and James Thorpe. Developed by CTV, the series is produced by Foundation Features and Lark Productions in association with Bell Media and distributed by NBCUniversal International. ABC has had success with another Canadian crime drama, Rookie Blue, which returns to the network next summer for a fourth season. ABC also has soap Mistresses on tap for the off-season.
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