Sitting at the top of the most viewed content on Netflix in 90 countries, The squid game (VF of Squid Game) has not spared Quebec, which has been torn apart over the relevance of prohibiting schoolchildren from wearing a costume from the ultra-violent Korean series. In this fierce allegory of capitalism in its most detestable form, Hwang Dong-hyuk recounts with undeniable effectiveness how 456 people, in great financial precariousness, take part in a competition which turns out to be deadly. Twisted and addicting.
Audrey came back
After its magnificent Can you hear me ? (co-scripted by Pascale Renaud-Hébert), who could have won the title of best comedy, Florence Longpré again amazes with her chronicle of the more than belated awakening of a comatose thirty, this time created with Guillaume Lambert, who borrows here from the patterns of Adulthood. Their bittersweet comedy fascinates with its apt portrayal of an endearing “average” family and the unlikely “resurrection” of a learning adult. On Club Illico.
It’s a Sin
Briton Russell T. Davies (Years and Years) delved into his memories as a young man to create this chronicle of the early years of the AIDS epidemic, in 1980s London. His gallery of characters, each of whom symbolizes one aspect of this terrible disease and terror that it provoked, and its staging as eventful as the time it depicts make this miniseries a great production
historical, which resonates with our present pandemic. On Prime Video.
Plan B
Carried on the muscular shoulders of Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, a stunning policewoman thirsty for social justice, the third season of the excellent series by Jacques Drolet and Jean-François Asselin deals with power with themes that have too often made the headlines in 2020: the domestic violence and feminicides. The bar is very high for the next season. Honorable mention to Vincent Leclerc and Mélanie Pilon, couple in the city as on the screen, in the roles of the executioner and his victim. On Tou.tv.
Black beast
Full of compassion, the strong and unique signature of filmmaker Sophie Deraspe (Antigone) colors the overwhelming miniseries Black beast, broadcast on Séries plus. Screenwriters Patrick Lowe and Annabelle Poisson portray a family whose daily life is turned upside down when the son commits suicide after killing six comrades. In the process, a duo formed of a surly sergeant and a benevolent coroner sheds light on the part of humanity that clings even in the darkness of such a tragedy. Remarkable.
I would like to be erased
Free adaptation of the novel by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, whose action has been transposed from Hochelaga-Maisonneuve to the more mixed district of Saint-Michel, this poignant series by Eric Piccoli and Florence Lafond, available on Tou.tv, features on stage three young people who face hard trials, naturally embodied by Sarah-Maxine Racicot, Charlee-Ann Paul and Malik Gervais-Aubourg. A harsh social drama, but not devoid of hope, in which Julie Perreault and Jean-Nicolas Verreault shine as destitute parents.
Six degrees
This first TV series concocted by the very prolific Simon Boulerice appealed to an audience of all ages, who took affection for his Leon, very rightly embodied by Noah Parker, a visually impaired young man whose fate changed the day after his death. from his mother. Discovering the joys (and misfortunes) of this extraordinary teenager’s family, friends, love and school makes for a moving learning story, which left us on a disturbing note. We are impatiently awaiting the sequel in January. On Tou.tv.
Yellowjackets
We think of the rugby team whose plane crashed in 1972, in His Majesty of the Flies and even to Lost. Dark black and gore red series, Yellowjackets (on Crave) follows the survivors of an accident during the 19 months of their hell in the wilderness; and we find them 25 years later, haunted by their past. Defended by a judiciously-chosen, writing-strong dual cast, the first four episodes promise the best for viewers – and the worst for the protagonists.
Mare of Easttown
The misery of the less fortunate among our neighbors to the South has fueled very high quality productions. It’s hard to choose from these heartbreaking dramas that give a glimpse of the less glowing sides of the American Dream. Maid, on the throes of chronic poverty, stands out, but it is the crime thriller Mare of Easttown (HBO), planted in laborious Pennsylvania, with the masterful Kate Winslet as a leading woman who tries not to crack, who wins the palm for the most successful production.
WandaVision
It all started with the dazzling WandaVision, both a series of superheroes and a tribute to television, and continues with the sympathetic Hawkeye after going through the conventional Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the amazing Loki and the somewhat disappointing What if…? : the 4e phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe now unfolds, cohesively and solidly, on the small and big screen. What happens on TV, on Disney +, has and will have an impact on the movies, and vice versa. This in itself is remarkable.
The White Lotus
Created by Mike White (Enlightened), The white lotus (VF of The White Lotus) could only be satirical, squeaky, sharp, biting. We meet a handful of vacationers who have come to spend a week in a resort in Hawaii, as well as a few members of the staff. One of them will die. Which ? Why ? Shhh … Before we get there, appearances will crack. We are already looking forward to the second season and its new “cargo” of tourists. On Crave.
Scenes from a Marriage
It took a lot of nerve to dare to follow in the footsteps of the prodigious Ingmar Bergman. Gold, Hagai Levi, creator of the Israeli series BeTipul (In therapy), did a hell of a job reversing the roles in this crumbling bourgeois couple, softening the outlines of the male character and deepening the reflection on motherhood and work-family reconciliation. Beyond all these qualities, we retain the undeniable accuracy of the game of Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac. To HBO.
The city of ghosts
A series which, unlike the explosive and magnificent Arcane, goes unnoticed. Created by Elizabeth Ito, it comes in six short episodes remarkable for their integration of 2D, 3D and live action, which follow four kids through the haunted (but fictional) places of Los Angeles. It is full of wit and tenderness. It’s about gentrification, cultural appropriation, diversity, discrimination. For toddlers. Naturally and without moralizing. A precious series. On Netflix.
The Beatles: Get Back
The documentary series of Peter Jackson was not only event, it was exemplary. When the Beatles give you unpublished archives that in and of themselves tell a story, well, we tell it. In three parts and 468 minutes, if necessary. We push the cutting edge of restaurant technology further. And we show what is happening, in the present day of January 1969: the process of creation, from worst to best. Humans who, in the face of adversity, reinvent themselves, Beatles again. On Disney +.
Loto-Meno
By lifting the veil on her painful journey, Véronique Cloutier offers with Loto-Meno, on Tou.tv, a healthy frank reflection on menopause and perimenopause, taboo subjects disputed even in medical offices. Disarming honesty and well picked up by the director Marisol Aubé, the miniseries sometimes pours into a little square militancy. The fact remains that she was able to make converts, the resulting petition collected this week more than 168,000 names. Devilishly efficient.