Will viewers succeed in saving the series Sleepless night? Two days after Radio-Canada decided not to renew the family saga starring France Castel, an online petition collected nearly 10,000 names to implore the production of a second season. There is still hope, as this would not be the first time that the public broadcaster has changed its tune in the face of public pressure.
Sometimes mobilized viewers weigh more than a staggering audience rating. Let us think among others of Black sequence which had finally been entitled to a second season despite a very small audience. Ditto a few years ago for the series All on me, which had been disconnected by Radio-Canada before the crown corporation reversed its decision.
“We can hardly compare with Sleepless night Nevertheless. All on me and Black sequence, these were author’s series that were risky in advance, ”relativizes Margot Ricard, professor at UQAM’s Media School.
Sleepless night was instead presented as a luxury soap opera, which begins with the poisoning of the main character, Louise Hébert, a wealthy businesswoman played by France Castel, a large part of her life had until then been unknown to her three children ( Valérie Blais, Marilyse Bourke and Jean-Philippe Perras). Over the course of the episodes, in which the heirs try to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of their mother, we discover that the protagonist was involved in the FLQ before making a fortune in the cosmetics industry. Sleepless night is also interspersed with historical reconstructions that take us back to the months preceding and following the October crisis.
In short, a fairly wise concept, but still perhaps too ambitious to hope to exceed one million ratings, and thus interest a private broadcaster in buying the series. At least, that’s the opinion of Margot Ricard, even if several fans hope so wholeheartedly. Opinion shared by his colleague Pierre Barrette, who emphasizes that it would be unusual in our television culture for a fiction to change broadcaster between two seasons.
“There are legal agreements between the broadcaster and the producers. The rights should be completely relaxed. In Quebec, the broadcaster is even more important than in the United States, ”explains the professor at the School of Media, who however believes that Radio-Canada cannot remain indifferent to the mobilization of fans of the series on social networks. .
Bad strategy?
Sleepless night still gathered around 800,000 viewers on average each week. Rather honorable figures in 2021, but which were still perceived by the broadcaster as disappointing. This is what makes Pierre Barrette say that Sleepless night Would perhaps have been more considered a success if the series had been broadcast first and in full on the extra of ICI Tou.tv before its airing.
The producer of the series, Dominique Veillet, had also confided to the To have to last month that Sleepless night was initially designed with the expectation that the public would be able to watch the series all at once on the paid platform. Finally, Radio-Canada opted for another strategy, by focusing on traditional television at the rate of one new episode per week.
“When a series is available in its entirety on a platform, what matters is not the ratings or the number of people watching it. It is the buzz around the series that generates new subscriptions to the platform. In the case of Sleepless night, I don’t know if the work is out of the ordinary enough to create such enthusiasm. But there is reason to wonder ”, advance Pierre Barrette.
Too late
Despite the commotion around the end of the series, Radio-Canada does not flinch and reiterates having made its decision with full knowledge of the facts with the box that produces the Pixcom program. We cite ratings below expectations, but also questions of budget and schedule, which would have postponed the production of the next season to the Greek calendar.
We also thought about shortening the plot over two seasons rather than three, as originally planned, which however posed too much of a writing challenge, we add. “We are touched by this petition, but it will not encourage us to change our minds, because we have already done our homework by looking at all possible avenues”, slice Dany Meloul, director general of Radio-Canada television.
Charles Lafortune, vice-president of development at Pixcom, also evokes the shortage of manpower in the world of television, which considerably complicates the shootings. He also indicates that no discussion has taken place for the moment with another broadcaster to take up the torch, but does not completely close the door.
“For the moment, it is not in our plans, but I know that it has already been done, to Plan B for example. We will let the Holidays pass, but we already have many other projects on the table, ”he suggested.