Starting February 14, Théo, Arnaud and Aïna, three young people from different backgrounds united by the need for secrecy, will occupy the airwaves of Télé-Québec in The pacta brand new series written by several hands, including those of Marie-Hélène Lebeau-Taschereau, to whom we owe family councils. In their sights, a momentum that has been discussed a lot during the pandemic, namely solidarity.
A priori, everything separates Théo (Mathéo Piccinin-Savard), young geek as slobbery as good, Arnaud (Léokim Beaumier-Lépine), a mysterious boy who has just landed in this universe, and Aïna (Sarah-Maxine Racicot), a young rebel ready to launch several challenges to impress his fans on social networks. Linked in spite of themselves, the three accomplices will cultivate a friendship which will initially have nothing natural or even spontaneous. They will therefore have to think about their relationship, which remains very calculated, so that their secret does not know a leak.
“I wanted to tell a story of solidarity and of people coming together to defend something bigger than themselves. People who, in other circumstances, would not have done it,” says designer and lead author Marie-Hélène Lebeau-Taschereau in an interview with the Duty.
The friendship and chemistry developed between the characters over the course of the series quickly found an echo in real life. “It was fascinating to see [les comédiens] to arrive for the first reading of the texts, not to know each other, and to note that, the more the shooting progressed, the more we witnessed the creation of a gang […] And to see that this friendship existed as much on screen as behind the scenes, well, I think it contributes to this magic. [qui émane de] the series”, emphasizes the author.
The solidarity that can be seen between these young people is not unrelated to that which Marie-Hélène Lebeau-Taschereau finds in her work. Written in collaboration with other writers, in particular Caroline Allard, Joëlle Bond and Robin Balzano, the series is carried by a very important team spirit for the author of the series. Clovis. “I’ve always had a variety of teams. Parity too, with different life experiences. It enriches the work,” she says.
She thus carries with pride the team experience acquired during her previous projects. To many, “it gets bigger. Everyone owns the series. And that is part of me. I’m a gang, family girl. In all the series that I write, the family is there. We become who we are through and in spite of our family, so that’s the theme I always come back to.
At the heart of reality
Beyond this happy complicity, the series leaves room for the discovery of different types of families, parents who are just as important and involved in the lives of their respective children. Théo thus lives with his single mother, Marianne (Marilyn Castonguay), who pulls the devil by the tail. Arnaud, son of Jade (Fanny Mallette), doctor mother, and Jason (Alexandre Goyette), policeman father. And finally Aïna, daughter of Maxime (Fayolle Jean Junior), teacher, preoccupied with her work.
Added to these worlds is the secondary school run by Julie Gaumont (Debbie Lynch-White), an authoritarian woman whose daughter, Laurence (Sandrine Carneiro), attends school. beyond the target audience and extend the spectrum of viewers. For Marysol Charbonneau, director of youth and family content at Télé-Québec, contributing to the exchange between children and parents is an important avenue to explore.
“We don’t want to do educational, school television. On the other hand, by presenting characters with whom one can identify, who behave in the right way, they become role models. […] And listening can be shared. It may be that, as an adult, we find our account there. The potential audience is wider than 9-12 year olds, ”she said in a press conference held earlier this week to present the series.
From family and friendship, to bullying, poverty, anxiety, social media and appearance, different, sometimes heavier themes run through the series. In a desire to offer additional resources to viewers, Télé-Québec and KOTV have joined forces with Tel-Jeunes. “Yes, we make children’s television, fiction, beautiful characters, who live full of emotions, but our secret mission is to equip children with regard to their development […] We started this series wanting to talk about 21st century skills.and century. Develop social relations, critical thinking, be able to have mutual aid, develop empathy. But over the episodes, we realized that there was room for a partnership with Tel-Jeunes because the texts already said that. […] “, explains Marysol Charbonneau.
New series full of promise – at least that is what the first three episodes watched suggest –, The pact promises to be vibrant, catchy, held at arm’s length by a sturdy cast, made up of experienced and highly credible actors. A first season which ends with an open finale in which the strings are voluntarily not all attached. “The goal was to close a chapter, but, indeed, the characters still have a long way to go, a lot of stories to live. Yes, of course we would dream of a second season that would allow us to go further in the lives of these families, ”concludes the author, all smiles and full of hope.