What is behind the caring staff of a large hotel? What goes on behind the doors of presidential suites or modest meeting rooms? What happens when it comes to a dysfunctional family-owned business? If these questions run through your head every time you walk past a luxury hotel, TVA’s new annual fiction should appeal to you. Especially if you’ve been following the show’s Clan O’Hara tribulations with interest. Oh (2012-2019).
Moreover, we find in the credits ofHotel names having paraded in that ofOhsuch as those of producer Sophie Deschênes, Sovimage, authors Nathalie Bourdelais, Rachel Cardillo, Marie-Frédérique Laberge-Milot and Annie Langlois, not forgetting those of head screenwriter Yves Lapierre and director Éric Tessier, who signed the first 12 of 24 episodes of the series — episodes 13 to 24 having been entrusted to Jean-Carl Boucher.
“With Jean-Carl, who, having worked on District 31, knew the pace of filming, we had a lot of discussions, confides Éric Tessier in a press briefing. I tried to “feed” him on everything I could, especially on the tone, because the tone ofHotel is quite special. There’s a fairly comical angle, very light, but there are times when you settle down, when it becomes more gripping. With the troupe of actors who got off to a good start, I believe that Jean-Carl had a solid foundation for finding this sort of mix there. »
Difficult succession
“Chic and tasteful soap opera series”, according to Denis Dubois, vice-president of original content at Quebecor, Hotel begins with a drama that turns the daily lives of the employees of the Dumont Hotel, a prestigious boutique hotel in Old Montreal, upside down. Jenny Dumont (Viviane Audet), general manager of the establishment and darling daughter of Victoria Breault-Dumont (Nathalie Coupal), perished in a road accident. Then enters the scene Guillaume (Emmanuel Schwartz), the arrogant twin brother of Jenny, who claims with brilliance the post of his sister. With his star look, his murderous gaze and his scathing replies, Guillaume has all the character we love to hate.
“It’s Emmanuel Schwartz, huh?” With him, the field is vast! How far do you let it go? How far are you going in the kind of madness? Me, I chose to let Emmanuel take possession of Guillaume and to have fun in it, ”explains director Éric Tessier.
However, Victoria, owner of the hotel, intends to entrust her daughter’s position, also coveted by her zealous right-hand man, Hugo Roberge (Patrice Bélanger), to Sarah Joseph (Marie-Evelyne Lessard), best friend of Jenny. Feeling guilty for the death of the latter, Sarah is on the one hand pushed by her future husband, Manuel Reyes (Christian de la Cortina), to accept the offer, and on the other hand encouraged by her good friend Karine Leboeuf (Catherine Chabot) to decline it.
Guillaume’s ambition could lead Sarah to make a hasty decision. Hotel concierge and loyal accomplice of Guillaume, Olivier Ostein (Olivier Gervais-Courchesne) could change the situation. If we rely on the two episodes presented to the press on Monday morning, the tango that this infernal trio will perform, interrupted by the ballet of hotel employees and customers, should keep the public spellbound every Thursday evening.
“What’s interesting about the writing is that it’s extremely full, there are so many things happening at the same time, it’s crazy! says Eric Tessier. Obviously, there are the acts of our main characters that will stretch over several episodes, but the moments that take place in the hotel, such as the wedding, will be much shorter. When you get to editing, it’s a great challenge to put it all together! »
“The idea is that customers always have a mirror effect on at least one of our characters, which means that they are never there for nothing and have a revealing effect”, reveals Yves Lapierre. Over the course of the episodes, the spectators should therefore discover the flaws that hide all this spread pomp.