Posted at 9:00 a.m.
Since the return from the holiday break, Radio-Canada has been offering a new family television show: The little tanners. Derived from the British concept What Would Your Kid Do?, the show places 4-6 year olds in different situations and parents have to guess how their offspring will react. Will their boy cheat at mini golf? Will their daughter lie to get awesome coloring pencils? For some parents, surprises follow one another.
PHOTO KARINE DUFOUR, PROVIDED BY RADIO-CANADA
Pierre Hébert (left) hosts the show The little tanners.
“We thought we already knew our boy, but we know him even more today,” says Stéphanie Valois, mother of Théo, one of the little tanners that viewers will discover during the season.
“One of my pleasures is to see the surprised reaction of parents who learn a lot about their child,” replies host Pierre Hébert when asked what he prefers in this game show. The comedian also likes the little lies told by young people.
I like that, seeing the imagination of children. […] What they invent makes me laugh.
Pierre Hébert, show host
James, 6, is one of those magicians who turned the truth on the show.
“He’s a liar,” laughs his father, John Vongphrachanh, when asked if he’s learned anything about his son. Even back home, James was repeating the story he had made up. “His lie lasted a month and a half,” says his mother, Valérie Émond.
Yes, it happens to little tanners to lie and cheat, “but it’s never done in spite,” notes Pierre Hébert. “It is done in all candor, in all naivety. They’re just trying to get rid of it for us. »
Cheaters, but empathetic
And if throughout the season the young people show an overflowing imagination, they also stand out for their great empathy.
The animator gives the example of a game during which the child must decide whether or not to take a toy from a bag that is not his. “There was a day when we couldn’t play that game because all the young people were saying, ‘Oh no, I wouldn’t like someone to take my toy.’ I found it so beautiful. »
The one who created the youth program Vrak la vie, on air from 2009 to 2015, loves working with children. “I see so many bright young people,” he says.
PHOTO KARINE DUFOUR, PROVIDED BY RADIO-CANADA
Stéphanie Valois, Maxime Lahaie and their son, Théo
The pleasure is mutual, testify the two families we met. “Pierre Hébert has a great bond with the children. From the start, the young people felt that he was their friend,” says Maxime Lahaie, Théo’s father.
If the link was established so quickly between the animator and the children, it is perhaps because he recognizes himself in James, Theo and the other little tanners.
“I would have been the ideal candidate for this show. Talking, always wanting to do more, have fun, put on a show… I think there’s a part of me that understands those kids. I’m telling you about it and it’s the first time I’ve realized it, but this need to have the attention of an adult, to make people laugh, to be looked at, to talk about with me…I think I fundamentally understand it in the kids who have come on the show. »
Unpredictable
Shooting with children brings its share of unpredictability. If the parents themselves do not know how their child will react, imagine the film crew.
PHOTO KARINE DUFOUR, PROVIDED BY RADIO-CANADA
Pierre Hébert in the games room Small tanners
I arrived and I had six tanners in front of me. I had no idea what choice they were going to make. It meant that no two shoots were the same. It was always funny. It kept me on my toes.
Host Pierre Hébert, about the portion of the show shot in a games room
“My strength is to improvise. It’s really a quiz that fell in my strings, ”continues the one who has just started filming the second season of the quiz. Matter of judgment.
Impressive ratings
The first episode of Small tanners, broadcast on January 7, was watched by 821,000 people; the second, by 767,000 people. “We were freaking out, confides Pierre Hébert about these figures. I know that there is the effect of novelty, we have done promotion, there is also the effect of the pandemic; even with all that, we never aimed so much. »
The host is even more delighted with a comment often made about the show: that it creates a beautiful moment with the family. Can we expect a second season? Pierre Hébert hopes so, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
Notice to the host: the young Théo says he is ready to take his place… if ever.