It’s not a question of who did it, it’s a question of how and why. CTV announced today that it has ordered the procedural drama series MOTIVE (working title) from award-winning, Vancouver-based Foundation Features and Lark Productions. Thirteen episodes of the one-hour drama have been ordered. MOTIVE follows a feisty female Vancouver homicide detective who matches wits with killers in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game. As she pieces together the clues of the murder, viewers are drawn inside the minds of the culprits. Daniel Cerone (THE MENTALIST, DEXTER) executive produces.

MOTIVE is developed for television by award winning producer Rob Merilees (Sleepwalking, Stone of Destiny), Rob LaBelle (MENTAL), Lindsay Macadam (The Entitled, Personal Effects), Emmy®-nominated producer Louise Clark (CORNER GAS, WHISTLER, THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF VANCOUVER ), and Erin Haskett (THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF VANCOUVER).

“With a distinctive voice and fresh take on the procedural drama, MOTIVE is unlike anything on television,” said Phil King, President, CTV Programming and Sports. “MOTIVE is the first of several innovative projects joining Bell Media’s original production slate in 2012/2013.”

“We are very excited by this opportunity for Foundation and Lark to work together with great writing talent and to add another original production to CTV’s winning schedule,” said Executive Producers Rob Merilees and Louise Clark.

MOTIVE is an unconventional way to watch a crime unfold. Each episode begins by revealing not only the victim, but the killer as well. The homicide detective then begins to piece together clues. How did they do it? How are the victim and killer connected? What’s the motive? As the mystery unfolds, the audience navigates the twisted and complicated maze of each murder and solves the puzzle alongside the detective and her team.

MOTIVE is produced by Foundation Features and Lark Productions in association with Bell Media. Executive producers are Daniel Cerone, Louise Clark, Rob Merilees, Erin Haskett, Rob LaBelle, Lindsay Macadam, and James Thorpe (Lost Girl). Showrunner is James Thorpe. Daniel Cerone wrote the pilot. Trish Williams is Director, Independent Production, Bell Media. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks. Phil King is President, CTV Programming and Sports.

Read about CTV’s fall schedule here.