25th Les Olivier Gala | Ève Côté and Pierre-Luc Pomerleau among the most cited

As it is she who will co-host with Cathy Gauthier the 25^e edition of the Gala Les Olivier, Ève Côté had certainly already put the evening of March 24 on her calendar. But on Tuesday she was offered a second good reason to appear there, in the form of five nominations, including four for her show Eve side.

The first one-woman show of the great flood stands out in each of the four main categories rewarding shows: Comedy show of the year, Director of the year (Joël Legendre), Visual Designer of the Year (Julie Lafortune and Charles Morin) and Author of the Year/Comedy Show.

Fact as amusing as it is touching: Ève Côté shares this nomination not only with the established authors Danis Durocher and Jean-Christian Thibodeau, but also with her brother, Jean-Michel Côté, with whom she wrote the first draft of her show , in three days, at their father’s hunting camp.

The proud Gaspésienne also stands out in the category Capsule or humorous radio sketch of the year for his segment on premenstrual syndrome offered on the morning airwaves of Rouge.

Polyglot mockingbird by Pierre-Luc Pomerleau is among the works selected in the same four categories related to the stage. Child of the century by Philippe-Audrey Larrue-St-Jacques, YELLOW by Daniel Grenier and Live by Simon Gouache complete the prestigious category of Comedy Show of the Year.

However, it is up to the comedian and cartoonist (Draw blindfolded) Alex Lévesque returns to the top of the list, his name appears five times in three categories, including Capsule or humorous web sketch of the year (twice) or Text of the year: humorous TV or web series (for the Noovo series Between two sheetsa nomination shared by no less than 19 authors).

The most reliable category

Historically, the Discovery of the Year category has proven to be the most reliable of the evening. Consult the list of those who have triumphed there and you will find very few comedians who are not always among the most popular in Quebec, including Martin Matte, Louis-José Houde, André Sauvé and Maude Landry (only Crampe en masse and Christopher Williams escape the rule).

The next elected official should not mismatch this select club, to the extent that it brings together five brilliant creators, all of whom could win without there being any cause for scandal, including three women, Suzie Bouchard, Mégan Brouillard and Michelle Desrochers, a drag queenMona de Grenoble, and a good devil, Tommy Néron.

This tough competition is reminiscent of the 2015 ceremony which, in this same category, saw Katherine Levac triumph over Virginie Fortin, Mariana Mazza, Fabien Cloutier and Pierre-Luc Pomerleau.

Women also make up the majority in the Capsule or humorous radio sketch of the year category. Suzie Bouchard, who has four citations, is there in the company of Vanessa Destiné, for their “Combat de wokes” presented at the microphone of The (day) is still young on ICI Première.

Some absent

A total of 21 trophies bearing the image of Mr. Guimond will be awarded on March 24, including eleven during the distribution relayed by ICI Télé and ten during the Industry Gala, webcast the same day, in the afternoon. The Comedy Show/Best Seller of the Year category, dormant since the pandemic, will be resurrected.

In terms of incongruities: the almost absence ofA boy like no other by Jean-Sébastien Girard, a first show unanimously praised by critics, only present in the category of Visual Designer of the Year (Robin Kittel-Ouimet).

Other surprises: The involution by the inimitable Maude Landry only appears in the category of Director of the Year (Guillaume Lambert) and Grace, by the equally inimitable Christine Morency, who only appears in the Best Seller category.

The popular comedian could, however, walk away with the Olivier of the year, unless Mathieu Dufour, Pierre-Yves Roy-Desmarais, Arnaud Soly or Mike Ward take it away from her. Strangely, none of the comedians in the running for the Olivier du Comedy Show of the Year is not included in this important category.

Presented by the Association of Comedy Industry Professionals, the Les Olivier Gala was held for the first time in 1999 with Lise Dion at the helm, an evening she left with, in her bag, the ‘Olivier for Comedian of the Year.

She could, twenty-five years later, add another statuette to her vast collection, her show Chu got therealthough launched in 2018, having managed to find its way into the Best Seller category, which we can imagine was a balm for the great lady of laughter, who had to interrupt her farewell tour last November following ‘an heartstroke.