The series premiere of CTV’s Cardinal drew an average viewership of 1.3 million, according to Numeris information provided by Bell Media. The audience data factored in five days of PVR data.

In terms of total viewers, the audience haul makes the suspense thriller the highest-rated debut of a Canadian series in the 2016-17 broadcast year to date (A25-54 and A18-34). Four million people have now watched some part of the debut episode on linear channels. This includes the premiere airings on CTV and Super Ecran, as well as encore screenings on both channels. The series will continue to air repeats on CTV and Super Ecran for the duration of its six-episode run.

Cardinal bowed on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 10 p.m. in the slot vacated by season one of U.S. drama Designated Survivor, which is currently on a two-month winter hiatus. Designated Survivor pulled in an average of 2.4 million viewers for its first six episodes. 

The series is produced by Sienna Films and eOne in association with CTV, with showrunner Aubrey Nealon executive producing alongside Julia Sereny and Jennifer Kawaja of Sienna. The six-part series is directed by Daniel Grou (aka Podz) and is distributed internationally by eOne. In French Canada, Cardinal airs on Super Ecran.