After the flood | Let’s save neglected series from drowning

I recently wrote that several excellent series have gone by the wayside, completely drowned out or diluted in the extra-abundant offering of Quebec television in the fall. After the flood de Noovo embodies the perfect example.

This bold and raw work by director and screenwriter Mara Joly deserved a better audience rating than the 176,000 people who viewed it, including the recordings. It’s not enough.

On Netflix, After the flood would surely have had a more flourishing career. On Noovo, it’s as if it didn’t exist, despite rave reviews and a big buzz media.

Was it too intense, too urban, too niche or too confronting for a more traditional clientele? Maybe.

Camped in a red-light, multi-ethnic neighborhood of Montreal, After the flood nevertheless brought together several winning elements to stand out from other TV series on the air. First, it brought to the fore unknown (and talented) headliners, which is what many viewers who are tired of always seeing the same actors, on all the airwaves, in all the soap operas, demand.

Then, she told a captivating story, that of four young delinquents, including three children of immigrants, taken under the wing of policewoman Maxime Salomon (Penande Estime), also a mixed martial arts trainer (the famous MMA).

The six episodes, broadcast on Thursdays at 9 p.m., contained suspense and immersed us in a world rarely depicted on Quebec television, that of Blacks and Latinos who struggle to escape violence and poverty. Think of Montreal North – or Saint-Michel – of street gangs.

The many qualities ofAfter the flood, a show that was both harsh and bright, did not, however, delight the hearts of viewers. It’s disappointing.

Personally, I loved it After the flood, and you can catch it for free on the Noovo website (or through the Crave platform, for paying subscribers). You will discover twisted and complex characters, yes, but endearing in their distress and vulnerability.

My favorite was Eva Ramos-Batista (Erika Suarez), a young woman of Cuban origin who supports her parents in the family cleaning business, but who chases love and money. Bright, resourceful and charming, Eva hid a secret which, once revealed, made her even more likeable.

Eva’s best friend, the intense Dylane (Blanche Masse), made me curse for six weeks, a target. This 17-year-old teenager, impulsive and angry, made the worst decisions and at the end of the fourth episode, in a shocking scene that I will not reveal, we understand that her situation will not improve.

This delicate element of the scenario, which involves his big brother Jimmy (Karl Walcott) and his bipolar mother Pascale (Marilyse Bourke), was approached with the necessary caution. It’s rare that a Quebec series ventures into this taboo territory which boils down to: what a twisted and fucked up family Dylane’s is.

The second season ofAfter the flood, which was confirmed by Noovo, will undoubtedly dispel the mystery surrounding Jay (Steve Diouf Felwin), whom those around him suspect of being gay. It’s not explicitly mentioned in the text, but rather Jay was born in the wrong body. Understand: he’s a trans character.

The information was slipped in, subtly, at the end of the second episode. When Jay was planning his escape, his mother (Djennie Laguerre) gave him his grandmother’s wedding dress, which she had fitted for him. “It’s beautiful,” Jay observed as he placed the white garment close to his body. “You look beautiful, my daughter,” the mother replied before getting into bed. Jay’s transgender identity was not discussed afterward.

The character of the university football player, the preppy Vincent (Samuel Gauthier), also showed a nice range of nuances. We thought he was selfish, spoiled and brainless, but we discovered a sensitive young man capable of asserting himself and admitting his wrongs.

Of course, patroller of Haitian origin Maxime Salomon, in a relationship with another dark-skinned woman (Leila Donabelle Kaze), allowed After the flood to talk about racial profiling and dangerous interventions made towards black communities, without it turning into a militant pamphlet.

OK, some of you are probably moaning at this point: “well, one trans, black, two lesbians, another bunch of woke » ! No way. This is simply a good story, well told and well executed.

And it’s difficult to do more modern thanAfter the flood. The series takes place mainly in French, with detours (subtitled) in English, Spanish and Creole. There is a clandestine bar run by Stella (France Castel), where criminals hang out. The characters vape, smoke jar, ingest street drugs and open accounts on OnlyFans. They live in apartments that look like real apartments of Montrealers who are not rolling in gold, far from it.

The soundtrack is eclectic, pulsating and invigorating, in short, After the flood had all the assets to make a big splash this fall.

So why did it sink in the listening polls?