District 31 and us | Why our investigative reporters got hooked

Katia Gagnon, head of the investigation team at The Press, and Vincent Larouche, investigative journalist, have the job of lifting the veil on human dramas and criminal stories that could easily appear in Luc Dionne’s series. Yet when evening came, they watched religiously District 31. They explain why… and express their reservations about the character of journalist Jean Brière.

Posted at 1:00 p.m.

Katia Gagnon

Katia Gagnon
The Press

Vincent Larouche

Vincent Larouche
The Press

my daily dose

For six years I needed my fixed four times a week. From Monday to Thursday, I couldn’t wait until the next day to see the rest of District 31. What caused this major addiction? These particularly endearing characters? These sometimes preposterous, but always breathtaking intrigues? These overwhelming human dramas that we saw parade at 31 evening after evening? The coded references to the news? The reversals that left us on the edge of the abyss, at the end of the week as at the end of the season? After six years, I still don’t know, just as it’s hard to say exactly what you like in a particularly successful dish. The combination of tastes is just right. Only bitter note, which made me – often – cringe: the infamous Jean Brière, this caricature of a journalist, who regurgitates without discussing all the info given to him by the police, without even bothering to take notes. But I’m going to miss Patrick, Bruno and Major Chiasson’s shenanigans for a long time. For six years, they were practically part of the family.

Katia Gagnon, The Press

Like an echo of the news

I covered several stories that overlapped with the themes covered by District 31. Watching the series, I had a lot of fun making connections with current events. Sometimes the plot incorporated allegations we heard about at work that weren’t published in the papers for lack of evidence, but made for good fictional material. I was also fascinated by the acting of the actors. They embodied some of the people I met during the day so well: it was disturbing! Journalism is not portrayed in a very favorable light by the series, but I understand. It’s a series that takes place from the point of view of the police and generally reflects the way some police officers imagine that we work…

Vincent Larouche, The Press


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