Fifteen series to channel the best of a TV year crossed by great darkness and strong lights. A selection of Manon Dumais, Amélie Gaudreau, Amélie Revert, Louise-Maude Rioux Soucy and Sonia Sarfati.
Andor
Both on the Marvel side and on the side of Star WarsDisney generously fed its TV platform… but on arrival, what looked promising (Ms.Marvel, Moon Knight, she hulk and Obi-Wan Kenobi) often turned out to be a wet squib. The exception, and it has the wingspan of fireworks, is Andor. Created by Tony Gilroy, this ante-episode of RogueOne uncovers the past of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) as the Rebel Alliance is being formed. It’s as dark as it is bright. On Disney+. (SS)
The Sandman
A fantasy orgy was on the menu for the fall season. Long awaited but received with reservations, The Rings of Power (Prime Video) and House of the Dragon (Crave) have opened new doors to known worlds. And there showed up The Sandman, adaptation of the fresco in 75 volumes written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by many artists. Joy and relief: the first volumes of this reputedly unsuitable masterpiece were brought to the screen in a spectacular flawless performance. On Netflix. (SS)
The House
Imagine a cross between The Nightmare Before Christmas and Fantastic Mr Fox. The result, sometimes funny, sometimes distressing but always rich in themes, could be called The House. Three episodes, three eras, one house. Its construction. Its sale. Its dilapidation. Its inhabitants, their values, their quirks. And, in both writing and frame-by-frame animation (stop-motion), a predominantly female team from England, Belgium and Sweden. A great little series. On Netflix. (SS)
Heartstopping
A sweet and beautiful love story, where serious issues are tackled without drama and with a lot of heart. In attendance, Charlie and Nick. The first came out of the closet and, if he has the heart in the right place, he got crushed a few times. The second is the star player of the school rugby team and his heart beating for Charlie takes him by surprise. Based on Alice Oseman’s comic, Heartstopping is designed for them (teenagers), but strong enough for everyone. On Netflix. (SS)
STAT and Indefensible
STAT Where Indefensible : this is the question that viewers asked themselves during the fall. Despite the negative reviews, the two dailies, which fought hard, each had 1.2 million viewers. Although the medical intrigues of Saint-Vincent Hospital have often had a slight lead over the causes defended by the Lapointe-McDonald cabinet, none of the dailies has yet beaten the 1.7 million spectators of District 31. On ICI Télé and TVA. (MD)
Pet
If there is a series that has troubled more than one, it is that of Simon Boulerice. Inspired by the Mary Kay Letourneau case, Pet recounts a case of sexual abuse of a minor, that of a teacher (Évelyne Brochu) towards her 17-year-old student (Lévi Doré), in the form of a romantic affair. A nuanced reflection on the notion of consent, the series deconstructs romance by demonstrating the devastating effects of such a relationship, both on the side of the aggressor and that of the victim. To noovo.ca. (MD)
Inventing Anna
The most scandalous, scabrous or monstrous news items fascinate ordinary mortals and the creators of series. Without fear of distorting reality, the latter lightly recounted the legal saga around the sextape of a starlet and a rock star (Pam & Tommy on Disney+), with glamour the machinations of a German scammer (Inventing Anna) and in a murky fragmented fresco the fate of a serial killer (Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story). On Netflix. (MD)
Severance
At Lumon Industries, we don’t trifle with the right to disconnect. Its employees consented to dissociation surgery that perfectly separates professional and personal memories. The series of anticipation – certainly the best surprise of the year – multiplies the narrative shifts to better tell the alienation at work. Better still, it does this with ferocious pleasure, thanks to a truly disconcerting game and a sublimely cold aesthetic. Long live the sequel! On AppleTV+. (LM.RS)
Before the crash
Camped in the carnivorous world of finance, this series written with a scalpel by Éric Bruneau and Kim Lévesque Lizotte is less interested in money than in those who imagine they can play with it as they please. The mirror she holds up renders an unattractive reflection of the human being, this often vile, materialistic, greedy and insatiable being. The director, Stéphane Lapointe, speaks of an “existential thriller”, and that’s exactly what we remember from this fabulous series which probes our souls without complacency. On ICI Tou.tv. (LM.RS)
The night Laurier Gaudreault woke up
We expected a lot from Xavier Dolan’s first TV series. Expectations were met and even exceeded. Its adaptation of Michel Marc Bouchard’s family drama, carried by its original cast, which is joined by Dolan himself and Anne Dorval as a mother figure, constitutes a magnificent tortuous and bewitching television object. Thanks to the skilful and patient construction of the story and to an exceptional cinematography, as we would like more often on Quebec TV. On Club Illico. (AG)
Funny
The screenwriter ofcall my agent, Fanny Herrero, did not disappoint with her new opus concocted for Netflix, which however withdrew it after a single season. This at once tender, grating and captivating incursion into the world of cabaret stand up comedian of the Parisian succession is aptly titled since we laugh a lot, frankly and sometimes yellow. Too bad we don’t have the chance to know the rest of the scenic and personal adventures of his formidable imperfect comedians. On Netflix. (AG)
The Bear
If this dramatic comedy laced with suspense could be broadcast in odorama, it would be almost perfect. We fall in love with the “family” of characters who populate the messy kitchen of an Italian sandwich shop in Chicago, which a prodigy of the culinary scene tries to revive after the tragic death of his brother. The almost zen plans of cooking and food preparation contrast with the chaos that reigns in this unruly but endearing brigade. On Disney+. (AG)
A League of Their Own
Abbi Jacobson (Broad City) achieves a home run by adapting Penny Marshall’s film released in 1992. Its series thus follows the adventures of the Peaches of Rockford during the formation of the American professional women’s baseball league in the 1940s. characters in search of emancipation and solidarity in the face of misogyny, homophobia, segregation and racism of the time, A League of Their Own (2022) is definitely queer and delightfully funny. On Prime Video. (AR)
Euphoria
The second season ofEuphoria continues to detonate thanks to Sam Levinson’s highly calibrated direction and a dangerously dizzying narrative. We get to know more about the dark sides of teenagers Maddy, Cassie and Nate, the friends of Rue and Jules, just as we embrace the unlikely relationship between Fezco and Lexi. The highlight is also episode 7, where the brilliant play, directed by the latter, alone crystallizes the tensions accumulated since 2019. On Crave. (AR)
Shared custody
The Acadian production by Christian Essiambre is anything but a family comedy! Intended for an informed public, Shared custody is inspired by situations experienced by single parents on a daily basis and therefore has a strong entertaining and universal potential — which goes beyond the scope of New Brunswick. The series seduces not only by the outspokenness of its performers, young and old alike, but also by the absurdity and bad faith which they divinely demonstrate over the sketches. On UnisTV. (AR)