One of the most influential independent producers of his generation in Quebec, Guillaume Lespérance is at the helm of some of our television’s great successes, such as Everyone’s talking about it, Discussions with my parents and the essential Bye, the humorous review of Radio-Canada, which he produced for the sixth year in a row. If the 43-year-old producer advocates “social, inclusive and smart” television, he doesn’t shy away from the pleasure of entertainment.
Q. Seen from the outside, the TV industry seems to be fixated on ratings. The chroniclers relate them religiously. Do you feel the pressure to be number one?
R. I also look at the numbers every day. And I have high ratings expectations because I want my productions to be popular, regardless of genre (talk show, documentary, fiction). However, these expectations relate to the general context, to the space occupied by a program in the grid, to the competition. For example, Discussions with my parents occupies one of the most important squares in the grid (Monday at 7:30 p.m.) and appeals to all generations. It’s normal to want more audience than for Guys, for example, a very good quality show that I love to produce, but more nested, and airs Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m.
Q. The Bye bye 2020 set a record in Quebec: 4,662,000 viewers, for the December 31 broadcast alone on ICI Télé! Is it possible to beat this record this year?
R. My only pressure is to deliver the best show possible, the one that will please the public. So if I have 100,000 more listeners, or 200,000 fewer, it doesn’t matter. It’s beautiful, the records, but we have to put things in perspective with the confinement last year. In 2018, we also created a historic record. The bad weather had no doubt helped our ratings. Moreover, this 50e edition of Bye remains the best show I have produced in my career and one of the best Bye.
PHOTO KARINE DUFOUR, PROVIDED BY RADIO-CANADA
The team of Bye bye 2016 : Marc Labrèche, Anne Dorval, Simon Olivier Fecteau, Patrice L’Écuyer, Véronique Claveau and Pierre Brassard, on the set of Everybody talks about it
Q. Concretely, what does a producer do on a TV show?
R. I listened to a podcast recently with an American producer who talked about a production like a sand castle by the sea. The producer is the one who makes sure to protect the castle while it is being kept. built. It’s never easy to deliver a TV project without having a wave threatening your castle. Sometimes you come to the end of a project and all the lights are green… then suddenly a red light comes on and you have to put out a light just before you land.
Q. Typically the producers take care of the administration or the content. You do both at the same time. Why ?
R. I like to get involved in all aspects of a show. That’s why I have a small business, with few projects, so as not to be trapped in a large organization that requires a large volume. On the Bye, I work very closely with Simon [Olivier Fecteau, réalisateur et producteur au contenu]. I attend the shootings, the editing. I give him my point of view, but I have complete confidence in his creative talent and that of the team.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Producer Guillaume Lespérance
Q. Notwithstanding the ratings, the pressure remains strong until the 1er January ?
R. It’s a very, very addicting project. One Bye 90 minutes is as complicated to produce as a 15-episode fictional series! In life, I am not anxious or worried. However, for four months, I have had many nightmares at night …
Q. Does a producer often have to go into battle to push his artists’ projects?
R. Yes, continuously. As an independent producer, it is in my interest to have good conditions, the best budgets, in order to have the best possible quality on screen. I’m from the school of entrepreneurs who think that you can make money by being generous with your partners and by making your employees happy.
Q. Producers are sometimes portrayed as sharks thirsty for profit, power and authority …
R. I have a rule. I choose people I want to work with, but in return I also want them to choose me. I never sign an option in a contract. I even tell them to go meet other producers before giving me an answer. There must be respect and admiration between us.
Q. It almost sounds like a romantic relationship, right?
R. Yes, and no one wants a forced marriage. I tend to work with my teams for a long time. In the long run, I think this fidelity gives better results. Projects that are less successful at the start can lead to better ones later. For example, the talk show The beautiful sunday, which was not very successful, gave Good evening ! Or, A boy a girl [la série avec Guy A. Lepage produite par Avanti, la société de son père, Jean-Claude Lespérance] was born in the wake of Need love, animated by Guy.
HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT PHOTO, THE PRESS
At the Les Olivier gala in 2012. Guillaume Lespérance, Simon-Olivier Fecteau and Étienne de Passillé for In audition with Simon.
Q. We often hear criticisms of your industry. The lack of public money, the exhaustion of its artisans, its old business model… Are you worried about the future of television?
R. On the contrary, I am optimistic by nature. Since my beginnings [il y a environ 15 ans], I only knew the decrease. I saw the tower [de Radio-Canada] to be emptied of its world, the workforce to be reduced, the budgets to be cut from one year to the next. Now, for two years now, I have felt a clear desire on the part of the public authorities to help us and to invest massively to support the industry. At the start of the pandemic, the rapid response of Louise Lantagne of SODEC saved a full television season. Of course, we can always complain and say that there is not enough money in culture yet. Of course, we could redistribute the funding in another way. However, the talent is there, the political will too, the production is running; and if we position ourselves intelligently, we will be able to export our content even more to the world.
Q. It sounds like a politician’s speech …
R. We live in a time when it’s not cool to be optimistic. Despite COVID-19 and a very difficult context, I have lived, for two years, my best professional years. I learned more about my job in 20 months than in 15 years! When you have to face big obstacles, this is where you have to show solidarity. At the worst of the first wave of COVID-19, I spoke every day with producers like Alexis Durand-Brault or Fabienne Larouche, whom I did not know before. Everyone wanted to find solutions and restart the machine.
Q. Has the pandemic put aside competition between producers?
I may be naive, but I don’t see other producers as competitors. If Louis Morissette is successful, it will end up being interesting for my production company. The good shots of others radiate all over the place. I blame my industry (and the media) for repeatedly announcing the death of conventional television. It is not true that she is going to die. There are lots of dates, families watching shows like Revolution, District 31, Discussions with my parents … TV in Quebec is going exceptionally well!
Bye bye 2021, on ICI Radio-Canada Télé, December 31 at 11 p.m. In replay on 1er January at 9 p.m.