Executive producer Tom Cox had been keeping his fingers crossed that there would be a second-season order from CBC for the family drama Heartland when he got the good news last week.

‘We were certainly hopeful…the numbers were growing over the course of the season,’ he says, on the phone from Calgary, where his Seven24 Films (Mayerthorpe) is based. Toronto’s Dynamo Films coproduces.

Heartland, which fills the Sunday 7 p.m. family hour, received an 18-episode order — five more than season one. Other new shows renewed by the network include the comedy Sophie, one-hour drama The Border, and Irish/Canadian copro The Tudors.

CBC programming boss Kirstine Layfield says Heartland flourished in the Sunday family slot ‘that we desperately wanted to bring back.’

‘[Heartland‘s] done exactly as we hoped it would…because it’s based on books, we have all kinds of tie-ins and were able to create a real community around it,’ she tells Playback Daily, adding that the show also has an active fan base on Facebook. It is based the series of novels by Lauren Brooke.

The Alberta-set drama, about a teen who helps her grandfather run the family’s debt-ridden horse ranch, premiered to 513,000 viewers (2+) last October, and finished its season averaging in the 700,000s. The Border (White Pine Pictures) also placed around the 700s, followed by Sophie (Sphère Média Plus) in the 600s.

‘These shows performed very well and we see lots of opportunity for them to grow even further in the future,’ says Layfield. Meanwhile, CBC axed jPod, MVP and Intelligence.

Cox says the renewal bodes well for the show’s international sales, adding that Heartland has sold in several European markets, while there are ‘serious’ discussions underway in the U.S. U.K.-based ContentFilm handles international sales.

‘Obviously it helps tremendously in that regard to have a second-season order…and, in fact, a larger order. The more episodes you have the better your chances on the international scene,’ he adds.

He says production of the additional five episodes will be dependent on whether the producers and CBC can get financing together.

‘We’re delighted to supply them…but we have to finance 18 in order to deliver them,’ he says. The episodes are budgeted at $1.4 million each.

Layfield says international attention is an important consideration in the decision to renew shows. Sophie was sold to ABC Family, and she says there’s lots of interest in The Border, though she would not elaborate.

‘[International sales] certainly helps us in terms of financing,’ she adds.

Producers have often grumbled about the lack of promotion from the Ceeb for their shows, though Cox says they’re ‘very happy’ with the energy the caster put into promoting the show both on and off the air.

‘There have been times where I’ve been among those criticizing [the CBC], but I’ve had no criticism in terms of Heartland…we’re not at all dissatisfied with their level of promotion,’ he says.

Layfield says second seasons don’t get as much promotion as a launch, but ‘time and effort is still there.’

‘You will never get to the launch-year levels with a second-year show, because when you’re launching you have to introduce characters and story,’ she says.

Production on Heartland‘s second season gets underway in May, with plans to wrap before Christmas.