Merely three weeks into its summer run on Global and ABC, the Canadian cop series Rookie Blue on Monday landed a second season order from the broadcasters, thanks to a strong launch last month.

‘I never want to count on anything happening until it does…certainly the debut numbers made us all start to feel a little less nervous,’ E1 Entertainment’s president of dramatic programming Noreen Halpern tells Playback Daily. E1 produces alongside Thump, the production shingle of veteran screenwriter Ilana Frank (The Eleventh Hour).

Blue bowed on June 24 to 2.1 million viewers on Global and 7.3 million on ABC, winning the night on both casters. It has continued to perform well in the Thursday 9 p.m. slot with an average 1.7 million over three episodes in Canada, which, combined with ABC, amounts to 8.5 million viewers overall. (All numbers 2+).

Halpern (Haven, Hung) says ABC had until Monday to come on board the second season of Blue, which follows five young police officers just out of the Academy.

‘ABC’s option was up, and so they had to make a decision. But it’s not like we had to strong arm anyone into it,’ she adds, noting that both broadcasters have been very supportive of the series.

Production on the 13 x 60 sophomore season will get underway later this summer in Toronto. A season two broadcast date has yet to be determined.

Blue is co-exec produced by Halpern, Frank, Tassie Cameron (Flashpoint), E1’s John Morayniss (Haven), and David Wellington (The Eleventh Hour).

It’s been a busy summer for E1, which also has another cop drama, The Bridge, currently airing on CTV and CBS, while its Stephen King suspense series Haven premiered this week on Syfy and Showcase. The company is also readying yet another cop series, Shattered, for a fall launch on Global. While no U.S. sale for Shattered has been made, Halpern says she’s ‘hopeful’ as talks continue with U.S. cable outlets.