The new Canadian crime series The Borderline will premiere with a special broadcast right after the Super Bowl. The first episode airs on Sunday, February 8, 2026, on CTV and streams on Crave. After the premiere, new episodes of the six-part thriller will be available to stream on Fridays, starting February 13, exclusively on Crave.
Release Schedule for The Borderline
The series has a unique launch strategy designed to grab a massive audience. The premiere episode, titled “Blue Beetle,” will be shown on CTV immediately following Super Bowl LX on February 8, 2026. This post-Super Bowl slot is a major opportunity for the show to find a wide audience on traditional television.
For viewers who prefer streaming, the same premiere episode will be available on Crave at the same time. After the special Sunday debut, the release schedule moves to a weekly streaming pattern. All subsequent episodes will stream weekly on Fridays, beginning February 13, 2026, only on Crave. The series is a six-episode limited event.
Meet the Main Cast and Characters
The Borderline features a strong cast led by several well-known actors from television. The story centers on the conflict between a local police officer, his childhood friend, and a dangerous crime boss.
- Stephen Amell plays Henry Roland, a police officer in a quiet town in the Thousand Islands region. He is best known for his lead role in the series Arrow.
- Hamza Haq plays Tommy Hawley, Henry’s childhood best friend who becomes linked to a dangerous drug case. Haq stars in the medical drama Transplant.
- Minnie Driver stars as May Ferguson, the matriarch of a ruthless British crime family operating in the area. Driver is an Academy Award-nominated actress recently seen in The Serpent Queen.
- Tamara Podemski plays Erica Ross, a Canadian Border Intelligence Agent who investigates the case. Podemski is known for her role in Reservation Dogs.
The supporting cast includes Katia Edith Wood, Jeremy Watson, Christopher Heyerdahl, and Diego Klattenhoff.
The Borderline Story and Setting
The series is set in the scenic yet tense Thousand Islands region along the border between Ontario, Canada, and the United States. The plot begins when a local police officer, Henry Roland, discovers evidence that connects a major case involving missing illegal drugs to his oldest friend, Tommy Hawley.
Henry decides to go outside official police protocol in a risky attempt to save Tommy from the situation. However, his plan quickly goes wrong and starts to destroy his own carefully built life. Complicating matters further, the missing drugs are also being hunted by May Ferguson and her powerful criminal organization. The show has been described as a dark crime story about good people making bad choices and the dangerous consequences that follow.
The series follows a cop from the wrong side of the tracks who ventures beyond the line of duty to save a childhood friend, only to have everything unravel.
How to Watch The Borderline in Canada and Internationally
For viewers in Canada, Crave is the official and exclusive streaming home for The Borderline. The service is available through the Crave website, its mobile apps for iOS and Android, and on most smart TVs and streaming devices.
- Canadian Viewers: The show premieres on February 8, 2026, on both CTV (broadcast) and Crave (stream). All episodes after the premiere will stream weekly on Crave only.
- International Viewers: Global distribution rights for the series are held by FIFTH SEASON, a major studio known for distributing shows like Severance and Tokyo Vice. This means the series will likely be sold to streaming platforms or networks in other countries after its Canadian debut. Specific international release dates and platforms have not been announced yet.
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Production Background and Filming Locations
The Borderline was originally developed under the working title “Underbelly”. The series is produced by Shaftesbury, the company behind long-running Canadian series like Murdoch Mysteries and Hudson & Rex, in association with Crave.
Filming took place entirely in Ontario, Canada, during the fall of 2024. Production began on October 2, 2024, and concluded on November 22, 2024. To create the show’s border-town atmosphere, the production filmed on location in several Southern Ontario towns, including Gananoque (the gateway to the Thousand Islands), Grimsby, Brantford, Cobourg, Bowmanville, and Toronto.
The series was created by Graeme Stewart (Saving Hope) and directed by Robert Budreau (Stockholm). Executive producers include Stewart, Shaftesbury’s Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Aaron Martin, and star Stephen Amell.
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