Fans of the Motive TV show won’t find the series on the ABC schedule this summer. The US network has decided to drop the Canadian police drama after two seasons.
Motive revolves around a strong-willed Vancouver detective (Kristin Lehman) who’s also a single mom. At the start of each episode, viewers are shown the killer and victims. As the criminal investigation progresses, details of what led to the crime are revealed via flashbacks. The rest of the cast includes Louis Ferreira, Lauren Holly, Roger Cross, Brendan Penny, and Cameron Bright.
Produced in Canada, ABC licensed the show to air in the US during the summer months. Though it has some devout fans, the series’ ratings were pretty poor. The first season attracted an average of a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 4.96 million viewers. Last summer’s second season drew a 0.8 rating with 4.07 million.
While ABC has “cancelled” the series here in the States, the show will continue to air in Canada. It was renewed for a third season in May 2014 and those episodes are currently running on CTV. The network has just announced that Motive has been picked up for a fourth season and will resume production in the fall.
It is possible that another US channel could pick up the series since licensing a show costs much less than producing original programming of their own. Cable channel ION picked up imports The Listener and Flashpoint after they were dropped by NBC and CBS respectively.
What do you think? Do you like the Motive TV show? Should ABC have dropped it? Would you watch seasons three and four on another channel?
I loved the show, good suspense, actors great plots. I really hope another network picks it up PLEASE! 🙂
Belginia = great news as it is on USA season 4 Sunday nights!!
Love this show, was excited it had been picked up! It’s such an intriguing ideach to give the killer, and victim in the beginning! Love that idea!I love my murder shows and this one is set apart from the reat!I have to say sometimes people aren’t aware shows are on at sometimes,which can hurt ratings! I felt bad because I couldn’t find the show; humans.Which resulted in me not finding it till after all of season 1 played. I ended up having to watch a marathon on demand. Now I feel guilty that the ratings were bad.If I recall right… Read more »
I love this show and would miss it terribly if it is no longer on any channel in the US.
Yes, I miss it also Laura.. I kept on thinking that the last episode wasn’t the last that we just hadn’t seen the final episode because of hockey. Checking every week for Motive , well now I realize that’s it’s REALLY OVER….sad, sad, sad,
Cecile = Great news it is on now on USA!!! Season 4
I loooooove the show Motive, I miss it, and I don’t like that the last episode left me expecting more episodes.
Laura = Great news it is on now on USA!!! Season 4 Sunday nights
I loved this show from the beginning because for once the concept of a crime show was different. I was out of country during the second season, came back and wondered what had happened to it. Glad to have found it on the USA network. What I never get is how some horrible and stupid shows go on and on, and some of the good shows end. I will celebrate the day reality shows meet their death. I really thought they would be long buried by now!
I am right there with you. And seriously there nothing real about reality shows anyways!
I really like this show, hope it continues. Hate reality shows….not much else to watch these days.
my husband and I really like this show
I really enjoy Motive. I hope another network is smart enough to air it. I enjoy the characters as well as the story line. There is always a twist at the end.
My wife and I loved the show from the beginning . Hope it is picked up by some cable channel. We never missed an episode since it was aired. The actors did a great job with the story lines. The writers were top notch. Will be looking for future episodes. It would really be a shame for someone else in the US not to pick it up.
I watched Motive from the beginning and really enjoyed. The concept is different but it works. USA did good to air this so hopefully another channel will pick it up. Hard to believe how stations fall over themselves to get those unrealistic reality shows. USA please rethink your decision.
this show is awesome. THANK YOU to channel USA. Look forward to each new episode. 0/03/2016
I watched Motive the two summers it was aired in the US and was disappointed when it wasn’t brought back. Great series – different and refreshing! It isn’t the same show you see over and over on our networks.
I think Motive is unique, different, and interesting. What a pity it is canceled because it different then our American procedure programs and it offers a different perspective.
I just found this show! Reminds me of “Columbo”.
Always saw promos for “Royal Pains”, “Burned” and “White Collar” . Maybe if they had done more promotion more of us would have started watching at the beginning.
If you have an “on demand” channel USA is running all three seasons.
Absolutely Kris , I agree, not enough promotions. It is very sad that we are losing such an excellent Canadian show. I hope that the directors are reading the comments.