CANNES, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Exemplifying the success of its innovative online campaign, “Endgame” has earned a prestigious International Digital Emmy® Award from the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The Canadian procedural drama series, which stars Shawn Doyle (“Big Love,” “24,” “Desperate Housewives”), was honored by a win in the "Digital Program: Fiction" category.
The program was produced by Thunderbird Films and Secret Location for Shaw Media’s Showcase channel.
“Endgame,” which is produced by Thunderbird Films in association with Front St. Productions, made its world premiere on Canada's Showcase last year. It is distributed in North America by Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) and is being sold internationally at MIPTV by Endemol. The series premiered exclusively in the U.S. on the free, ad-supported Hulu and Hulu Plus subscription service in January, extending the show to U.S. audiences and continuing its track record of successful social engagement.
Accepting the award was Shaw Media’s Head of Online Content Chris Harris and Secret Location’s Founder/Executive Producer James Milward, Producer CJ Hervey, Technical Director Ryan Andal and Creative Director Pietro Gagliano. The exclusive, invite-only ceremony was held in conjunction with the MIPTV international programming market's opening night festivities in Cannes.
"Tonight’s win marks another stellar collaboration with Secret Location. We were thrilled with the final product – a highly engaging and immersive digital program. To see the project embraced by fans and now the Academy is truly an achievement and honour for all involved," said Harris.
“'Endgame' epitomizes the type of cutting-edge content that we are committed to creating and distributing to digital and traditional platforms alike,” said Lionsgate President of Worldwide Television & Digital Distribution Jim Packer. “We are thrilled that its pioneering campaign for engaging online viewers has been honored by the Academy with an International Digital Emmy, and we look forward to continuing our productive partnership with Hulu to bring the show to an expanding online audience.”
To support the series’ Canadian launch on Showcase last year, Thunderbird Films joined forces with Showcase.ca and Secret Location to create the ultimate web experience. The result was an exclusive, interactive online episode (http://www.showcase.ca/endgame) designed to weave information from viewers' Facebook profiles directly into the online narrative, plunging the audience and their friends deep into the heart of a personalized mystery.
The “Endgame” interactive experience also featured three engaging mini-games, which could be played as stand-alone experiences. As an added bonus, the series’ own Patrick Gallagher (as "Hugo") took viewers behind the scenes, offering exclusive interviews with “Endgame” cast and crew, as well as additional insight into the series' explosive action.
To date, the site has generated over 500,000 unique views and introduced a new audience to the show’s characters. Over half of the users of Endgame Interactive were engaged in the experience for over 10 minutes. The “Endgame” interactive experience was previously honored with a Favourite Website Award (FWA), an industry-recognized Internet awards program and inspirational portal. “Endgame” was also nominated for five Gemini awards (the Canadian equivalent to the Emmys), including best television drama series, and has amassed a dedicated and loyal following of fans online.
“Endgame” centers on the brilliant chess master Arkady Balagan, who uses the skills that made him a world chess champion to solve crimes that mystify others.
Download artwork: http://www.thesecretlocation.com/projects/endgame-interactive/