This summer, thanks to ComediHa! salutes Montreal (from July 18 to 28) and ComediHa! Fest (from July 1er to August 24), Korine Côté and Billy Tellier are not going to be idle. Before the interview begins, the comedians happily discuss their rather recent reality as parents. The Montrealer, mother of Henri, and the Terrebonne native, father of Édouard and William, agree that their new role is as exciting as it is perilous. We brought together two creators who have a lot in common, comedians who are the first to admit that their humor is nourished much more by the anxieties of their daily lives than by major societal issues.
Over the past twenty years, by banking on their versatility and holding back on almost nothing, from the stage to television, from radio to podcasts, from writing for themselves to writing for others, these talented jacks-of-all-trades have carved out a special place for themselves in the comedy world in Quebec. “It’s true that we’re kind of the same person,” admits Côté. “We have the same vision,” adds Tellier, “an efficiency and a concern for a job well done. It must also be said that we’re not afraid to work in the shadows when necessary.” “I really like doing script editing,” adds the woman who did it on the new version of Hot pepper. I am currently working on Incredible!a show that will be hosted this fall by Alexandre Barrette on ICI Télé. I’m having a lot of fun!
Demanding radio
Radio has played an important role in the lives of both comedians. Billy Tellier left CKOI in April 2023, after 12 years of doing morning radio and more than 5,800 minutes of capsules. “I haven’t given up on radio, but I needed a break. Having to make people laugh between two often terribly sad newscasts is not easy. Let’s just say that there are days when you have to row hard.” As for Korine Côté, his last radio engagement was in December 2023. “It’s a very demanding format, but it’s also very rewarding, because you get an instant reaction, first from the people you work with every day and who become lifelong friends, but also from the audience, who are so close, so responsive.”
If someone offered him the chance to make a living solely from his solos, Billy Tellier would think twice. “I really like gags in all their forms,” he explains. “Working on stage, on TV, on the radio and even in comics, it constantly provides me with new challenges in addition to allowing me to satisfy different parts of my brain. Sometimes, for fun, I read the texts of Yannick De Martino, who has a universe so different from mine. The older I get in my profession, the more I appreciate these kinds of stimulating encounters with other comedians.” Korine Côté prefers the running-in of a new show to the tour itself, where she often feels very alone. “I like breaking numbers, writing new stuff and going to test them. It hurts, but it’s good. I like the raw, the first versions, seeing imperfect numbers come to life, but which have an essence, an impulse.” There’s a vulnerability in there that I find irresistible.”
The words to say it
The two comedians agree that you can’t (or no longer) say everything, or rather say it anyhow, but that it doesn’t necessarily constitute an attack on freedom of expression. “At the beginning of your career,” recalls the one who is in the middle of running in his third solo, “you’re ready to fight to keep a gag that you’re asked to remove or modify. With time, you understand that it’s not serious, that it’s not a matter of state.” “It’s not worth fighting for a word, or even for a swear word,” says the one who is capable of provoking cascades of laughter by explaining how much she hates coriander, a plant that, she is convinced, grows “in Satan’s rectum.” “Moving to the barricades for a word,” adds Côté, “is trouble for nothing, bile secreted in vain.” There is always a way to say things differently, it is often even better than the initial formulation.
That said, both acknowledge that there are things that are said on stage or in podcasts that are not said in the same way on the radio or on TV. “On the radio, I never stopped myself from saying anything,” says Tellier. “It’s about adapting to the medium. For example, in Fifty Shades of Beige Montreal [un texte hilarant qui lui a valu en janvier dernier l’Olivier de la capsule ou sketch radio humoristique de l’année]I encrypted my words, introduced metaphors, so that only adults could understand everything. I like to find a way not to say things explicitly, to suggest, to let people create their own images. It often generates a lot more laughter than if we had used vulgar words.
In July, on the occasion of ComediHa! Salutes Montreal, Korine Côté and Billy Tellier will alternately host, at the Duceppe theater, two evenings without any cameras entitled There’s something to laugh about. In August, for the ComediHa! Fest in Quebec City, they will host two galas at the Grand Théâtre that will be filmed for future television broadcast. Comedians and acts may return, but the two masters of ceremonies promise us that the evenings will not be carbon copies. “In Montreal,” says Côté enthusiastically, “the absence of cameras will give a more loose. We’ll be able to allow ourselves a little more. Greater freedom of tone, but also more latitude with regard to time.” The duo agreed to reveal the names of some of their guests: Martin Petit, Pascal Cameron, Ouellet, Tommy Néron, Rachelle Elie, Dominic and Martin, Ludovick Bourgeois…
When asked what we can wish for them in the future, the two comedians answer in unison, half-joking, half-serious: “Our sitcom!” “We’re just waiting for a producer to approach us,” explains Tellier. “We’d be formidable, a perfect couple on screen.” “Let’s throw it out into the universe!” concludes Côté, laughing.