The numbers are in and it’s official: Private Eyes succeeded in its mission to go out on a high note.

The Global original series, produced by Entertainment One (eOne) and Piller/Segan, remained a Canadian ratings success throughout its run, even as it competed for eyeballs with the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

According to Numeris, Private Eyes‘ Aug. 26 series finale attracted 1.4 million total viewers to see how the story ended for lead characters Angie Everett and Matt Shade, played by Cindy Sampson and Jason Priestley. The finale ended up as the No. 1 viewed program in Canada that week.

The performance rivals recent Canadian ratings success stories. Transplant‘s series premiere garnered 1.3 million viewers on CTV, with the season peaking at 1.7 million viewers for a single episode, while the Schitt’s Creek series finale earned 1.1 million viewers on CBC.

The entire final season averaged 1.1 million viewers, which Jocelyn Hamilton, president, Canada, eOne Television, tells Playback Daily is a 10% increase in ratings from season four. For context, Private Eyes season four won the Golden Screen Award in 2020 alongside CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries, given at the Canadian Screen Awards to honour the most-viewed Canadian films and series in a given year.

Hamilton added that season five “outperformed Global’s time-slot average across all key demos,” bringing an 81% increase for total viewers.

“Given today’s ratings landscape, Private Eyes‘ ratings are stunningly high and very consistent, which is a dream for any network,” says Hamilton.

Global announced the cancellation of the series during the June upfront presentations, one month before the final season began its run on July 7. At the time Troy Reeb, Corus Entertainment’s EVP broadcast networks, told Playback the network felt strongly that the series needed to go out on a high note.

“We’re tremendously proud of Private Eyes and our incredible crews and dynamic cast – lead by Jason Priestley and Cindy Sampson – for successfully captivating audiences both domestically and internationally during its five seasons,” says Hamilton. “While we are disappointed that Shade and Angie’s adventures have ended on Global, we respect Corus’ decision.”

If the ratings weren’t indication enough, Private Eyes fans have flocked to social media to share their interest to keep the show going with the hashtag #SavePrivateEyes.

It’s a strategy that has had mixed success in Canada. While Wynonna Earp fans successfully campaigned for a fourth season of the sci-fi series, with producer SEVEN24 Films bringing in Cineflix Media and Crave to complete production financing, a campaign to save the CBC and Netflix series Anne with an E did not yield results.

“It’s not a surprise to see this reaction from audiences – and it has been noticed across the industry,” says Hamilton.

The executive producers says eOne is currently “exploring all potential options” for the series given its solid ratings performance. “We are grateful for our fans and would love to someday give them more ‘Shangie’ to enjoy if we could,” she adds.