| Genre: | Crime drama Thriller |
| Based On: | Cardinal book series by Giles Blunt |
| Creator: | Aubrey Nealon |
| Composer: | Todor Kobakov |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 4 |
| Num Episodes: | 24 |
| Producer: | Jessica Daniel |
| Editor: | Teresa De Luca |
| Location: | Sudbury and North Bay, Ontario |
| Runtime: | 40 minutes |
Cardinal is a Canadian crime drama television series, which was first broadcast on January 25, 2017, on CTV (in English) and Super Écran (in French).[1] [2] [3] The series adapts the novels of crime writer Giles Blunt, focusing on police detective John Cardinal (Billy Campbell) and his partner Lise Delorme (Karine Vanasse), who investigate crimes in the fictional city of Algonquin Bay.[3]
Across six episodes, the first season adapts the first John Cardinal novel Forty Words for Sorrow (2000),[4] which focuses on the investigation of the murder of a young girl.[1] On February 28, 2017, CTV renewed Cardinal for a second and third season, each containing six episodes.[5] The second season adapts Blunt's third Cardinal novel, Blackfly Season, while the third adapted the novels By the Time You Read This and Crime Machine, the fourth and fifth novels in the series.[5] The fourth and final season adapts the sixth novel, Until the Night.[6]
John Cardinal (Billy Campbell) is a troubled and brooding police officer in Algonquin Bay, who was removed from the homicide squad as a result of chief Noelle Dyson's (Kristen Thomson) belief that he had become obsessed with his investigation of a missing Native Canadian girl. When the girl's body finally turns up, he is reassigned to the case with a new partner, Lise Delorme (Karine Vanasse). What he does not know is that Delorme has been assigned to investigate him as part of a corruption probe that has identified Cardinal as possibly collaborating with a local drug dealer. The investigation widens when another missing person case with similar patterns leads Cardinal to believe that a serial killer may be active in the area.
A young woman suffering from amnesia after having been shot in the head appears in Algonquin Bay. Soon mutilated bodies, in accordance with some occult religious rituals, are discovered. The bodies are members of a local group of bikers known for trafficking drugs. John Cardinal and the team suspect that someone is trying to replace the gang in the drug trade. The mental health of his wife still worries him. Musgrave thinks he has finally found the evidence he is looking for.
The suspicious death of Cardinal's wife Catherine coincides with a double murder, and Delorme is ordered to take the lead in the murder investigation. Reluctant to believe that Catherine committed suicide, Cardinal begins investigating other possibilities, whilst dealing with a succession of anonymous letters blaming him for the event. Noelle Dyson, recovering from the death of her sister, tries to reason with another prospective suicide and is devastated when she fails to prevent him killing himself.[7]
After a prominent politician's husband is abducted and then left to die from exposure, Cardinal and Delorme suspect that a hired killer is targeting those close to four people, out of revenge for a cover-up in their past. Cardinal and Delorme grow closer but this case will be their last together as Delorme takes a new job in Toronto.
The first season was directed by Daniel Grou, and produced by Sienna Films and eOne Entertainment. It commenced production in Sudbury, Ontario in February 2016, with some additional location filming taking place in North Bay, Nipissing First Nation and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek. The first season was given a production budget of $1,800,000 per episode.[8] Locations included the former studios of CBC Northern Ontario and the North Bay Public Library, which served as the Algonquin Bay police station.[9]
The second season was directed by Jeff Renfroe, and was produced primarily in North Bay.[10]
The show's theme music is adapted from the song "Familiar" by Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel. Background music featured in the series is composed by Toronto-based Todor Kobakov.
Vanasse, who is Québécoise and had previously appeared in the American television series Pan Am and Revenge, commented that Cardinal is the first time in which she is playing a Québécoise rather than a European character in an English-language television programme.[11]
Episodes from the second season premiered a day in advance of their television broadcast on on-demand service Crave TV.[12] Filming on the third season completed in July 2018,[13] and the season began airing on January 24, 2019.[14] The fourth and final season was broadcast in 2020 with its finale airing on May 11, 2020.
In the United Kingdom the series was broadcast on BBC Four for the first three seasons and BBC Two for the last season. It was broadcast on C More in Scandinavia, Calle 13 in Spain, Hulu in the United States, SBS in Australia(no longer broadcast), Magenta TV in Germany, Canvas in Belgium and Channel 11 in Israel. In Brazil, the TV series premiered on Universal+, streaming belonged to Universal TV, NBCUniversal's channel.[15] [16] [17] [18]
John Doyle of The Globe and Mail praised the series, calling it "a gripping, superbly made crime drama" which ultimately lands as "landmark Canadian TV".[19]
The series received 12 Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018. It won six awards, including Best Actor in a Limited Program or Television Film (Campbell),[20] Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Program (Macdonald),[21] Photography in a Drama Series (Steve Cosens), Editing in a Drama Series (Teresa De Luca), Music in a Fiction Program or Series (Todor Kobakov) and Best Casting (Jon Comerford and Lisa Parasyn).
At the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019, the series won the awards for Best Limited Series, Best Lead Actor in a Drama Program or Limited Series (Campbell), Best Lead Actress in a Drama Program or Limited Series (Vanasse), Best Editing in a Dramatic Program or Series (Matthew Anas), Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-series (Renfroe), Best Music in a Fiction Production (Kobakov) and Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-series (Sarah Dodd for the episode "Red").