Season 1
Endgame is a Canadian mystery drama television series created by Avrum Jacobson and developed and produced by Thunderbird Films which follows former World Chess Champion Arkady Balagan, a genius who uses his analytical skills to solve crimes following the death of his fiancée.
The series aired in Canada on Showcase from 14 March to 13 June, 2011. There are 13 hour-long episodes in one season.
Endgame originally aired in South Africa on M-Net and DStv's M-Net HD channel, from 16 September to 9 December, 2011. It later aired on DStv's M-Net Series channel. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 1 originally aired on M-Net and M-Net HD from 16 September to 9 December, 2011, on Fridays at 20h30. New episodes broadcast weekly.
Endgame premiered on M-Net Series on Sunday 8 April 2012, at 19h30. New episodes broadcast weekly.
Synopsis
He was born in the Soviet Union but escaped when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. He rocketed to international chess stardom after winning a string of tournaments, all played at blitz speed.
Arkady Balagan soon became World Champion and one of the most legendary chess players of all time.
Balagan came to Vancouver, the hometown of his fiancée, Rosemary, to take part in a tournament. Rosemary was going to lunch with an old friend. As they waved goodbye, a vehicle drove up. He watched as Rosemary died in a hail of bullets.
The local police said it was a case of mistaken identity. Balagan became traumatized; convinced he was the real target. It was Vladimir Putin's revenge for Balagan having given millions to the pro-democracy forces in Russia.
The potent combination of guilt, grief and fear made Balagan unable to leave the hotel. And so he was stuck inside for months, eventually running out of money.
A boy is missing and Balagan makes an off-hand observation that turns out to be true. Soon one of the fathers, under suspicion from the police, is pleading with Balagan to help solve the crime.
Bored with his life in the hotel, broke, and eager to help, Balagan agrees and to his own surprise, he soon figures out who has the boy.
Thus he earns a reputation for solving mysteries and figuring out the impossible. Each week, people come with problems that have stymied the police, or problems that they cannot even bring to the authorities.
He has two confederates who do his leg work - Sam, a grad student and chess fanatic, and Alcina, a hotel maid from Guatemala. Danni, the hotel bartender, is his source for information and contacts, as well as an ear for his theories.
But the trick is that though Balagan cannot leave the hotel, he solves the puzzles in his head. Literally. He can imagine events, interview the living and the dead, go over every permutation and combination of events.
He imagines it one way, then another; and we have the privilege of entering his mind and seeing it all with him, until finally he figures it out.
During all of this Balagan is also trying to figure out who killed Rosemary and why. With the assistance of her sister, Pippa, he explores many theories, but to no avail.
So the question remains: Why can he solve every case - except his own?
Seasons
There are 13 episodes in one season
Season 1
Channel: M-Net | Premiere: 16 Sep 2011 | Finale: 9 Dec 2011 | Fridays, 20h30
Channel: M-Net HD | Premiere: 16 Sep 2011 | Finale: 9 Dec 2011 | Fridays, 20h30
Channel: M-Net Series | Premiere: 8 Apr 2012 | Finale: 1 Jul 2012 | Sundays, 19h30