''Motive'' is a Canadian police procedural crime drama television series that aired for four seasons on CTV from February 3, 2013, to August 30, 2016. The series premiere had 1.23 million viewers, making it the number one Canadian series premiere of the 2012–13 season.

Premise

''Motive'' is a police procedural crime drama set in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, following the investigations of

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

single mother Detective Angie Flynn ( Kristin Lehman). Each episode reveals the killer and the victim at the beginning; and the rest of the episode details the ongoing investigation, the killer's efforts to cover up the crime, and, via flashbacks, the events leading to the crime. This format is similar to that of the TV series '' Columbo''.

Cast and characters

Main

* Kristin Lehman as Detective Angelika "Angie" Flynn, a feisty Vancouver detective who investigates the

motive Motive(s) or The Motive(s) may refer to: * Motive (law) Film and television * ''Motives'' (film), a 2004 thriller * ''The Motive'' (film), 2017 * ''Motive'' (TV series), a 2013 Canadian TV series * ''The Motive'' (TV series), a 2020 Israeli T ...

s of killers. * Louis Ferreira as Detective and later Staff Sergeant Oscar Vega, Flynn's former partner and close friend. * Brendan Penny as Detective Brian Lucas, originally a rookie detective, by the third season he has come into his own. *

Lauren Holly Lauren Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American actress. She has played the roles of Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the television series ''Picket Fences'', NCIS Director Jenny Shepard in the series '' NCIS'', Dr. Betty Rogers on '' Motiv ...

as Dr. Betty Rogers, the lead medical examiner. * Valerie Tian as Officer Wendy Sung (season 2), the department's rookie uniformed officer. *

Roger Cross Roger Cross (born October 19, 1969) is a Jamaican-born Canadian actor who has made numerous appearances in several films and television series, mostly on productions shot in Canada. He is known for his work as CTU Agent Curtis Manning in the ...

as Staff Sergeant Boyd Bloom (main cast season 1, recurring seasons 2–3), later Superintendent of Investigation. *

Warren Christie Hans Warren Christie (born 4 November 1975) is a British-Canadian television and film actor known for his roles as Ray Cataldo on the ABC drama '' October Road'' and as Aidan "Greggy" Stiviletto on the ABC series '' Happy Town''. More recent ...

as Sergeant Mark Cross (main cast seasons 2–3, recurring season 4), Bloom's replacement as team Commander. Cross and Flynn had an affair ten years previously while he was married, which is revealed during an investigation of a case they worked on at the time.

Recurring

* Cameron Bright as Manny Flynn (seasons 1–2 and 4), Angie's teenage son who later leaves to attend school in order to become a chef. * Laura Mennell as Samantha Turner (season 2), an attorney and Mark's love interest. *

Victor Garber Victor Joseph Garber (born March 16, 1949) is a Canadian-American actor and singer. Known for his work in film, television, and theatre, he has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, four Tony Awards, and six Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also ...

as Neville Montgomery (season 3), a wealthy businessman. *

Richard de Klerk Richard de Klerk is a Canadian actor and producer, known for his work in independent Canadian films. His filmography includes ''Repeaters'', '' Cole'', ''Fathers & Sons'', '' Bang Bang You're Dead'', ''Mr. Rice's Secret'' and ''CBGB''. Early li ...

as Robert Montgomery (season 3), Neville's son who works for him. * Luisa D'Oliveira as Maria Snow/Sonia Desesso (season 3), who also works for Neville and is engaged to Robert. * Francis X. McCarthy as Henry Guenther (season 3), Neville's attorney. * David Lewis as Sergeant Gavin Saunders (seasons 3–4), part of the Internal Affairs department. * Marci T. House as Police Chief Jennifer Wells (season 4), who is constantly at odds with Oscar as head of Homicide. * Victor Zinck Jr. as Detective Mitch Kennecki (season 4), who is briefly assigned as Angie's partner. * Karen LeBlanc as Detective Paula Mazur (season 4), Angie's partner following Kennecki's dismissal from Homicide. *

Tommy Flanagan Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...

as Agent Jack Stoker (season 4), a London-based Interpol agent and Angie's love interest.

Episodes

Production

On May 31, 2012, CTV ordered 13 episodes from Foundation Features and Lark Productions, to be filmed in

, from September 17, 2012, to February 26, 2013. The series premiere aired following CTV's broadcast of

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

. On May 21, 2014, CTV ordered a third season of ''Motive'', which premiered on March 8, 2015. On October 5, 2015, CTV announced that ''Motive'' had begun production on the fourth and final season, with star Kristin Lehman directing one of the 13 episodes. Following the events of the third season, Detective Flynn finds herself without a car in the fourth. On April 5, 2016, CTV announced it has partnered with Chevrolet for the final season. Flynn decides on a 2015 Camaro.

Ratings

Broadcast

Starting in 2013, the series aired for two seasons on ABC in the United States. Following poor second season ratings, ABC did not include ''Motive'' on its 2015 summer schedule. In 2016,

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

picked up ''Motive'' for its spring schedule. The third season premiered on April 1, 2016, and concluded on June 26, 2016. The fourth season began airing the following week on July 3, 2016, and concluded on September 25, 2016. The series began airing reruns on G4, which relaunched in the summer of 2021.

References

External links

*
''Motive''
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Motive (TV Series) 2013 Canadian television series debuts 2016 Canadian television series endings 2010s Canadian crime drama television series Detective television series Canadian police procedural television series Super Bowl lead-out shows Television shows set in Vancouver CTV Television Network original programming Television series by Bell Media Television series by Universal Television Television shows featuring audio description Television shows filmed in Vancouver