Like the Toronto police S.W.A.T. team portrayed in Flashpoint, crack CTV marketers have leapt into action to build a Canadian audience for the cop drama as it bows on both sides of the border Friday at 10 p.m.

‘Yes, that’s of interest to us,’ says Rick Lewchuk, SVP of CTV creative agency and brand strategy, of the fact the Canadian drama from Toronto-based Pink Sky Entertainment and Avamar Entertainment landed in ‘reverse simulcast’ on CBS. It will mark the first time a Canuck drama series has aired in U.S. primetime since CBS picked up Due South in the 1990s.

‘I worked through the times of promoting Due South. So we take a certain pride that the program will be on CBS as well,’ Lewchuck adds.

To help Flashpoint stick with Canadians accustomed to standard U.S. police procedurals, CTV unveiled the series’ cast and creative talent to about 40 journalists gathered in Toronto at the network’s recent upfront presentation.

The media also visited the Flashpoint set to interview lead actors Enrico Colantoni, Hugh Dillon, David Paetkau, Amy Jo Johnson and Sergio Di Zio, while magazine covers were confirmed ahead of the July 11 debut.

The multi-platform promotion then picked up steam with a 60-second trailer that unspooled on 240 screens at 21 multiplexes in front of Hollywood movies including Wanted and Hancock.

CTV also launched an interactive push that consists of extensive media buys on social network sites such as YouTube and Facebook, and on major Internet portals. The banner ads push online surfers to the Flashpoint web page for sneak previews.

Lewchuck says the online promotion for Flashpoint is integral to the multi-platform campaign, as CTV needs to chase potential viewers wherever they are nowadays.

‘We’re always looking to evolve in how we reach people. When I think back 10 years, we would put the majority of promotional budgets into TV Guide and TV Times. But now you have to go where people are, and if they are on their computers, you want to reach them there,’ he explains.

CTV has enjoyed minimal media spills from the CBS promotion of Flashpoint, as all online advertising is geo-gated.

Stateside, Flashpoint is only one of two new dramas from CBS this summer.

The other is the 1970s-era drama Swingtown, from Six Feet Under producer Alan Poul, which has a prized Thursday night slot and could help promote the low-rated Friday night summer slot for the Canadian drama.

In addition to an unenviable time slot, a possible drag on U.S. numbers is CBS airing Flashpoint after reruns of Numb3rs.