There is nostalgia in the air: the ancestor of Quebec reality TV, the famous series Storefront, returns to the screen almost three decades after its premiere. As in 1995, the docu-reality will follow seven young people from the regions who come to settle together in Montreal. The series remains faithful to its original format and will show the lives of the roommates, quite simply, without makeup or storyline, without competition, without elimination and without any prizes to be won.
We are far fromDouble occupation, Loft Story, Big Brother celebrities and other reality shows that have spread over the past two decades. There will be no “pampering” in a spa, no flashy decor or a house to win Storefront. Just seven young people aged 18 to 25 who arrive in shared accommodation in the “big city” to begin their adult lives.
The legendary series will return to Télé-Québec, where it aired between 1995 and 1999. The broadcaster is preparing to launch a call for applications to recruit participants. Filming is scheduled to begin in August with a view to being broadcast in the fall of 2024, on a date that remains to be determined. The docu-reality will extend over ten weeks, with four half-hour episodes per week.
The idea of reviving Storefront comes from producer Valérie Beaulieu, president of Trinome & Filles, who participated in the second season of the docu-reality in 1996. She arrived from Quebec to settle at the other end of Highway 20 with all the enthusiasm of her 22 years old.
“My participation in Storefront changed everything in my life. Without it, I wouldn’t be here today. I would do it again without hesitation,” she tells Duty.
“I spoke loudly, I laughed loudly, but it was to hide my lack of self-confidence. I was partying a lot, then I started being more serious, going to university,” she adds.
Valérie Beaulieu discovered by participating in Storefront that she wanted to work in communications or television, but behind the camera. Having become an experienced producer, in 2018 she purchased (with her partner Christine Simard) the production company Trinôme — which was behind the first version of the docu-reality, in 1995.
Young people first
The producer, a big fan of reality TV (she has been associated with Double occupation), proposed to Télé-Québec to relaunch Storefront with director Frédéric Gieling. The broadcaster accepted with enthusiasm given the success of the original version, 29 years ago, and the enthusiasm generated by the series Being a teenageron Télé-Québec since last January.
The two docu-realities aim to interest young people in general television, which they have deserted in favor of digital platforms, notably YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
“Young people and their parents are there to Being a teenager. We think that people aged 45 or 50 and their teenagers will also be there to Storefront », Explains Nadine Dufour, vice-president of content at Télé-Québec.
She remembers with emotion having devoured Storefront in 1995. “It is a sociological and profoundly human experience. It struck me to see that at that age, we all experience the same thing when going to an apartment. Cleaning, grocery shopping, studies, work, first loves: it’s a lot of freedom and responsibilities at the same time,” she says.
François-Nicolas, one of the participants in the first season, in 1995, summed up well the excitement that can grip young roommates, unaccustomed to living in the eye of a camera: “It’s like boring in bits and pieces. . Life is shit, I hate myself and I want to die. »
Participating in docu-reality is a way of testing one’s own limits and forcing destiny so that “something happens”. “When you’re young, fat, pimply and you don’t know what to do, you have to try to do something out of the ordinary to feel like life is worth it, to hold on to it,” had -he adds.
Life on screen
In a project focusing on notable Quebec television series, YouTuber Martin Kronström recalls that Storefront was at the time a hybrid of the film Louis 19 (1994) and the TV novel Rooms in town (1989). “You are going to be the first person in the world to live their life on screen,” the hero of Michel Poulette’s film, played by Martin Drainville, is told.
Series The Real World, which began in 1992 at MTV, exploited the same vein. It was just three decades ago, but it seems like an eternity: the Internet was still in its infancy, and social networks did not exist. The second season of Storefrontin 1996, still offered a great innovation: the show had a website and a discussion forum with the participants!
Today, young people live stream their lives on TikTok and Instagram. Besides, does Valérie Beaulieu fear that the participants will spend their days locked in their rooms, tapping away on their phones? ” No way. When you arrive, you want to know the others, you want to discover the city. At first, they will all go grocery shopping together. I’m not worried, things will happen. »
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