An important page turns for Bianca Gervais and Sébastien Diaz this week: Télé-Québec will broadcast the last of Family size. In an interview, the couple talk about a landmark project from which they have grown and, above all, validated.
Seated at the café La graine brûlée, in Montreal, Bianca Gervais recalls that in 2014, when presenting the program to Dominique Chaloult, then director of programs for Télé-Québec, she had no experience in animation. Having starred in several popular series (Charlotte’s world, The Negotiator, Destinies), she had forged a reputation as a talented actress, but, to start her thirties, she wanted to show that she had more than one string to her bow.
Seven years and several Gemini trophies later, it’s mission accomplished.
“It took guts to believe in ourselves at the start,” says Bianca Gervais. At the time, I was still seen as the little champagne bubble, the slightly edgy girl, the sympathetic little cousin. ”
I had something to say, but people ignored it. Family size validated me. The world discovered that I had a brain, a voice, a sensitivity.
Bianca Gervais
Sébastien Diaz had a similar experience. After five years at the helm of the cultural magazine See, jack-of-all-trades was known as an animator in 2014, but perhaps less so as a director. Adventure Family size was a game-changer, especially since in 2017 and 2018, he also found himself behind the goal for Terror 404, an award-winning horror web series at several foreign festivals.
“We have grown a lot, observes Sébastien Diaz. Professionally, it came to confirm a lot of business. ”
“We’re on fire! ”
After observing the family from every angle for so many years, Bianca Gervais and Sébastien Diaz want to take on other challenges. The decision to close the chapter Family size went hand in hand with Télé-Québec, supports the tandem. But it was not easy to take so far. The show continues to attract 156,000 viewers each week, according to confirmed data from Numéris.
“It’s an emotionally charged year, admits Sébastien Diaz. Ending something is a lot of anguish. ”
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Bianca Gervais and Sébastien Diaz
Their bet promises to pay off, however, since for a few months, Bianca Gervais and Sébastien Diaz accumulate projects. Some will succeed and others will not, but, one thing is certain, there is no shortage of inspiration.
“We’re on fire! exclaims Sébastien Diaz, who is preparing a horror feature film. We generate a lot of ideas. It’s a super productive year, hence my super tired face. We were contacted by a lot of people. It does the ego good to know that others want to work with us. ”
“It’s a year where we discover each other, adds Bianca Gervais. I will realize Mammoth 2021 at Télé-Québec, I am preparing a documentary… I have received proposals as a host. At 37, it’s fun to shake things up. ”
Parent of two young children, the couple does not close any door… except that of reality TV. “We were offered a lot of renovation shows, but it’s no, says Sébastien Diaz. If we want to redo our living room, we will do it ourselves. ”
Other tandem projects are also considered. “It’s easier to work with my boyfriend than with some big ego actors! », Laughs Bianca Gervais.
With emotion
Bianca Gervais and Sébastien Diaz recorded the last of Family size in October. The animators knew that this day would be emotional, especially since they had, to mark the occasion, gathered the whole team at home.
Family size, it’s a family in front of and behind the camera. It’s the same gang that I did See, Diaz Formula and The wow effect. We went to the Oscars together, we went to Berlin, we toured Quebec ten times, we fired brushes… Just thinking about it moves me.
Sebastien diaz
“There was no hierarchy in the team, continues Bianca Gervais. Everything was done in collegiality. ”
When Bianca Gervais and Sébastien Diaz think of the eight years of the show, they also think of the wide range of subjects they have covered. They talked about mental load long before the term made headlines. In the first episode, broadcast in September 2014, it was about homoparentality with Ariane Moffatt.
Bianca Gervais is proud to have explored questions that confronted her initial positions, such as prolonged breastfeeding, polyamory or even the non-gendered education of children. “I think it’s cool that we’ve been to all these areas,” she says.
While waiting to know the rest, we continue to watch Bianca Gervais not in The breakaway (Marie-Louise is officially dead), but in The perfect moments, a This Is Us Quebec broadcast on TVA.
“It’s a series that we gain to discover. It speaks of small pleasures. There is no murder, no crimes, no pedophilia… It’s a different type of proposal ”, underlines the one we also hear from Fantastic by Véronique Cloutier, in Rouge.
For his part, Sébastien Diaz pilot We will tell each other at Radio-Canada. From Monday to Thursday, he discusses current affairs in the company of experts, journalists, socially engaged personalities and artists.
“What I like is the mix of people. We receive guests from all walks of life. We can have Régis Labeaume, Judith Lussier, François Lambert… Every day, I have the impression of leading a completely improbable aperitif. ”
Télé-Québec broadcasts the last of Family size Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.