The surprise
American Nightmare
We have never been a big fan of crime documentaries, commonly called true crime. But because American Nightmare (in French, The kidnapped truth: from dream to American nightmare) had been at the top of the Netflix charts for a week, we let ourselves be tempted. And, surprise, we were not disappointed. Composed of three very compact episodes, this series revisits the kidnapping of an American woman in 2015 in Vallejo, California. And without divulging anything (or almost), we can say that it highlights the frustrating amateurism of the police (local police and FBI), their unbearable arrogance, and above all their pernicious tunnel vision which makes you want to remove the remote control from the window.
Netflix
The novelty
PHOTO PROVIDED BY TÉLÉ-QUÉBEC
Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard with Stéphanie Harvey on the show Good game !
Good game !
In the hope of attracting a young audience, Télé-Québec is offering this magazine which celebrates video game culture. Led by author Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard (whose enthusiasm is contagious), the show replicates the codes of Twitch, this platform on which we watch other people play video games. And against all odds, we like it there. Director Simon Lamontagne (The adventures of the Pharmacist) gives a very TikTok aesthetic to the television event produced by Urbania, which brings together clearly passionate collaborators, such as Stéphanie Harvey, Kevin Raphaël and Mathieu Pellerin fromOD. This week, the host faces comedian Yannick De Martino at Street Fighter 6. The next, we rediscover retro games, like Donkey Kong Country.
Télé-Québec, Friday at 6:30 p.m.
The safe bet
PHOTO PROVIDED BY RADIO-CANADA
Pierre Hébert hosts The little tannants.
The little tannants
We’ve always found this show cute, but this winter, for all sorts of reasons, it’s making us laugh out loud. And often. Pierre Hébert is obviously responsible for several moments of hilarity. Just sloppy enough and never short of repartee, the host and comedian allows himself more. And every time we see a young person lie in a brazen and frankly obvious way (“A mother owl passed by. She had claws,” a little girl recently said to explain why the strings of a guitar were torn off), we regret all our lies told before the age of 7, when we thought we were super subtle. Special guest this week: actress Catherine Trudeau.
ICI Télé, Friday at 7 p.m.
Catching up
The clown is sad
Broadcast last week on Canal Vie and Noovo, this documentary addresses the mental health issues of comedians through interviews and archive images. We salute the choice of guests, a diverse group of comedians who are not afraid to show their vulnerability, including Maude Landry, Cathy Gauthier, Coco Belliveau and Eric Preach. Among the highlights, let’s highlight Simon Gouache who loses his means by talking about “ruminatory anxiety” (invasive thoughts), the judicious observations of Louise Richer, general director and founder of the National School of Humor, an extract from an issue by Jean-François Mercier in which he admits to having thought about suicide, and Mario Jean who recounts his panic attack.
Crave and Noovo.ca