Imagine a playoff series where the best teams in the National Hockey League didn’t take the ice. Would winning the Stanley Cup taste as good as having all the stars of the Bettman League in attendance?
It is this type of softened competition that awaits the Gémeaux Awards gala following the withdrawal of influential producers Aetios (Fabienne Larouche and Michel Trudeau), ALSO (Alexis Durand-Brault and Sophie Lorain) and Duo Productions (Anne Boyer and Michel d’Astous), who prefer to stay on the bench rather than participate in a tournament governed by rules that they consider unfair and outdated.
Result? The Gemini championship will take place without the broadcasts STAT, Reasonable doubt, With beating heart, Without an appointment, Innocence Project, The rebels, Happiness And Classified Secret. Radio-Canada will therefore broadcast, on Sunday, September 15 at 8 p.m., a celebration of Quebec television in which its biggest headliners such as Suzanne Clément, Geneviève Schmidt, Roy Dupuis, Ève Landry, Julie Perreault, Marc-André Grondin and Magalie Lépine-Blondeau will not be competing. It’s strange and incongruous, really. And it’s causing a stir, behind the scenes.
The list of finalists of the 39e The Gemini edition was unveiled on Wednesday afternoon with its share of weird stuff, as always, as well as three titles that end in top of the list with 15 citations each, i.e. Before the crash 2, This is how I love you 3 And Witches.
In the best drama series section, the absence of Reasonable doubt and of Classified Secret allowed the very good series FEM from the Unis TV channel to sneak into the top five alongsideBefore the crash 2, This is how I love you 3, The Emperor 2 And Plan B 4.
It will be played between Before the crash And This is how I love youtwo favorites of the members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, which oversees the ceremony.
For those who are scratching their heads here and wondering: what is that? FEM ? This is a miniseries directed by Marianne Farley that tells the story of a 16-year-old teenager (Lennikim, also named) who questions his gender identity. You can watch the ten half-hours for free on the tv5unis.ca platform.
A Criminal Case 2, Surprising Detective, Good morning Chuck, After the flood And One way 2 (which completely bit the dust) were excluded from the contenders for the prestigious trophy for best drama series. As for IXE-13 And Raspberry Time 2 from Club illico, they will only be submitted next year. Same thing for In Memoriam from Crave, which was not eligible this year.
PHOTO MARIKA VACHON, THE PRESS
Screenwriter Marie-Josée Ouellet, who co-wrote the series Witchesin the company of actresses Louise Laparé and Céline Bonnier
As Fabienne Larouche did not register STAT, the category of daily series disappears and merges with that of soap operas, where Indefensible will rub against Witches, 5e Rank, Alerts And The perfect moments. VAT dominates this section and Witches could dethrone Alertslast year’s winner.
In comedy, The candidate, Breathe in breathe out, Lakay Nou, Leo And Completely high school will fight for the precious statuette. Shunned, The eye of the storm definitely had its place here. I hesitate between my two favorites The candidate And Breathe in breathe outtwo breaths of fresh air that deserve all the honors, with a preference for The candidate. The two big “remakes” of last season, A boy a girl And The little lifewere not considered for this award for best comedy.
Oddly enough, the show The Chiefs ! was not selected for best reality TV. No trace of MasterChef no more. The five reality TV finalists are called Survivor Quebec, Restaurant, Wood Chiefs, Love is in the meadow And Big Brother Celebrities. My tribe has spoken: I vote, on a parchment, for Survivor, obviously.
The mixed categories at the Gémeaux will have lasted only one year (too long). Gone is the non-gendered movement that diluted the presence of stars at the main gala: men and women return to their separate boxes.
PHOTO MARIKA VACHON, THE PRESS
Actress Erika Suarez at the unveiling of the finalists on Wednesday
A nice surprise among the dramatic actresses with the recognition of the excellent work of two actresses fromAfter the floodPenande Estime and Erika Suarez, who join Karine Vanasse (Before the crash), Marilyn Castonguay (This is how I love you) and Amélie B. Simard (Good morning Chuck). Advantage Marilyn Castonguay, who is simply amazing in the role of the fierce Huguette Delisle.
Among the men, it is very hot between Émile Proulx-Cloutier (Before the crash), Jean-Philippe Perras (The emperor) and Pier-Luc Funk (Plan B). Bernard Fortin (Good morning Chuck) and Lennikim (FEM) are less likely to say thanks into the microphone. Prediction: Émile Proulx-Cloutier, who was masterful in the role of a banker adrift.
On the soap opera side, the three half-sisters of Witches (Céline Bonnier, Marie-Joanne Boucher and Noémie O’Farrell) face farmer Marie-Luce de 5e Rank (Maude Guérin) and the criminal lawyer Inès d’Indefensible (Nour Belkhiria). One of the witches will win, I wish it for Marie-Joanne Boucher.
Two actors from 5e Rank (François Papineau and Maxim Gaudette) will try to triumph against Frédéric Pierre (Alerts), Denis Bernard (The perfect moments) and Michel Laperrière (Indefensible). This could be Denis Bernard’s year.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY RADIO-CANADA
Catherine Chabot in the role of Alix Mongeau, in The candidate
Without taking anything away from the work of Christine Beaulieu (The eye of the storm), Sylvie Leonard (A boy a girl), Emilie Bibeau (Bad weather) and Catherine Souffront (Lakay Nou), Catherine Chabot will win the Gémeaux for best comic actress for her endearing deputy pole in The candidate. She was exceptional.
(Re)read the column “ The candidate : the best Mme Dufferin’s pole!
The men’s category is more scattered with the selection of Joakim Robillard (The air of going 2), Robin-Joël Cool (Bad weather), Marc Labrèche (The little life), Steve Laplante (Leo) and François Bellefeuille (Bad weather). I would go with Joakim Robillard or Steve Laplante.
In total, 109 statuettes will be awarded at three different galas, on September 13 and 15. That’s a lot of gold hardware. But it’s less than the 144 Geminis that were awarded in 2022. We console ourselves as best we can.