MONTRÉAL, October 19, 2021 - Club illico today unveiled an exceptional lineup of shows for 2021-2022, including the largest number of major new original series in a single year in its history. Once again, Club illico will offer an outstanding selection of prestige series penned by big names such as Patrick Senécal, Florence Longpré and Sophie Deraspe. Directors Philippe Falardeau and Xavier Dolan will each make their directorial debuts in the series format.
In the coming months, more than 1,500 hours of fiction content will be added to Club illico’s impressive catalogue of original series, foreign series and feature films. Subscribers to Québec’s most popular French-language subscription streaming service will find compelling stories of all kinds, including four original films. Club illico’s rich and diverse catalogue is available to viewers from coast to coast, whether or not they are Videotron customers. It logs 100 million views per year.
“We were eager to unveil this year’s crop of new shows,” says Daphnée Defendini, Senior Director, Content Platforms Strategy at Videotron. “In addition to a record number of new original series, subscribers will be able to watch Québec films available exclusively on Club illico, starting in November. We will also be presenting a fine selection of programs for children and teens, perfect for family entertainment. Our roster of well-known names and the stories they tell bring Club illico subscribers across Canada the richest fictional content of any all-French platform.”
The best original series
Since its inception in 2013, Club illico has made it its mission to invest in local productions, and 2021-2022 is no exception.
“Once again this year, Quebecor Content and Club illico have spent millions to create major original drama series that will appeal to subscribers of all backgrounds and every generation,” says Denis Dubois, Vice President, Original Content at Quebecor Content. “Club illico provides an arena where our artists and crews can apply their talent and creativity and show what they can do. In collaboration with our producers, we proudly offer high-quality prestige content that does our platform proud.”
Patrick Senécal présente, the anthology series produced by Zone3 that picked up two acting awards at the last Gémeaux gala, will be back starting October 28 with five new tales from the undisputed master of Québec suspense. Directed by Stéphane Lapointe and Patrick Senécal, the new batch of eerily disturbing episodes is guaranteed to send a chill down viewers’ spines.
On a completely different note, Audrey est revenue, a new dramedy about a young woman who must learn to live again after being in a coma for 15 years, will drop on November 18. It is produced by Pixcom, written by Florence Longpré and Guillaume Lambert, and directed by Guillaume Lonergan.
The first six episodes of NOUS, produced by Duo Productions, directed by Yannick Savard and written by Dominick Parenteau-Lebeuf, go live on December 2. NOUS is the story of five young people in the prime of youth coping with tragedy. They will emerge transformed from the life-changing events. The next six episodes will be released on January 20, and another 12-episode season will be shot in the spring for release later in 2022.
The popular series LÉO will return for a third season on January 5. Léo and Cindy are finding out what it’s like to be newlyweds – and new parents! The successful comedy is produced by Encore Television, directed by Jean-François Chagnon and written by Fabien Cloutier, Steve Laplante, Sonia Cordeau and Érika Soucy. Season 4 has been confirmed and will be out next summer. Plans are underway for season 5.
The psychological thriller Les Honorables will be back with a splash on January 6 as the Dessureaux continue their battle against injustice. But this time around, they won’t be the only ones looking for alternatives to the legal system. Produced by Sphère Média, directed by Louis Choquette and written by Jacques Diamant.
Lac-Noir, a new original series produced by Pixcom, written and directed by Frédérik D’Amours, will be released on February 3. A policewoman from the city is dispatched to an isolated and mysterious village in the Laurentians to assist the local police chief after his partner vanishes. A thriller with multiple twists and turns.
The teen show La vie compliquée de Léa Olivier will be back for another season on February 24 and Léa’s life will be no less complicated. Produced by SLALOM and Encore Télévision, directed by Martin Cadotte and written by Rachel Cardillo with Sébastien Bertrand, based on the novels by Catherine Girard-Audet. Prepare for another round of romantic entanglements!
Le temps des framboises, produced by Trio Orange and written by Florence Longpré in collaboration with Suzie Bouchard, is filmmaker Philippe Falardeau’s very first series. It tells the story of Élizabeth, a feisty woman who inherits the family farm after the death of her husband. The series is at once a funny and moving social drama about the hard lives of farmers, and especially the foreign workers who come to rural Québec every year, and a magnificent romantic fable about connecting with the other. Lands on April 14.
In a few months, the new drama series Mégantic, produced by ALSO Productions, directed by Alexis Durand-Brault and written by Sylvain Guy, will revisit the tragedy of July 6, 2013, when a train crashed into the centre of Lac-Mégantic, causing the largest oil spill on land ever in North America. Each of the eight episodes is a sensitive account of what happened to one victim of the catastrophe and the effect on his or her loved ones.
Later in 2022, Club illico subscribers will be treated to the first series directed by Xavier Dolan when La nuit où Laurier Gaudreault s’est réveillé, produced by Productions Nanoby, starts streaming. Based on the play of the same name by Michel Marc Bouchard, the series tells the story of a woman who left her home town after being assaulted. Thirty years later, now a prominent thanatologist, she returns to her native village to embalm her own mother. An emotional family drama about broken human beings in which grief and the quest for reconciliation are intertwined.
Later this year, viewers can look forward to a brand new case in season 3 of La faille, produced by Pixcom, directed by Daniel Roby and written by Frédéric Ouellet. Detective Sergeant Céline Trudeau returns to the village where she grew up and is forced to confront the event that traumatized when she was 16 – the heinous murder of Véronique Jolicoeur, her cousin and best friend.
Club illico today announced Motel Paradis, a new original mystery series from Zone3 that will add still more premium content to the platform. Sophie Deraspe is writing the screenplay, with Stéphane Hogue, and directing. After a near-death experience, Jen is sure her 14-year-old sister didn’t commit suicide. Determined to get to the bottom of her disappearance, she turns for help to a detective who was recently forced to retire. Together, they will conduct an unorthodox investigation in Jen’s remote village. The cast includes Nahéma Ricci, Stéphane Gagnon, Isabelle Guérard, Elisapie, Edouard Tremblay-Grenier, Anik Lemay, Gildor Roy and Martin Dubreuil. The series is currently in production.
Finally, Club illico has confirmed that Portrait-robot, the police procedural from ALSO Productions directed by Alexis Durand-Brault and written by André Gulluni, has been renewed for a second season.
Captivating and entertaining international series
Club illico has entrusted Quebecor Content with the job of tracking down the best foreign content for Québec audiences.
“International series are very popular with Club illico subscribers,” says Yann Paquet, Vice President, Strategy and International Affairs at Quebecor Content. “We’re finding that Quebecers are enthusiastic about the shows that captivate audiences around the world. We are working tirelessly to get our hands on the hottest television programs of the moment in order to enhance the superb selection of titles that has earned Club illico its reputation as THE destination of choice for on-demand entertainment.”
Again this year, Club illico will bring subscribers leading international franchises such as the captivating and visionary series ANNA, season 3 of L’amie prodigieuse (My Brilliant Friend), the second installment of La Jauria, and season 5 of La servante écarlate (The Handmaid’s Tale), to name just a few.
To get the best international content for Club illico, Quebecor Content recently signed an agreement with NBC/Universal for exclusive access to dramas from its Peacock streaming service. Le meilleur des mondes (Brave New World) is on Club illico now. Dr. LaMort (Dr. Death) will be available as of this Thursday. Coming soon: One of Us Is Lying, Superman and Lois and The Girl in the Woods (based on the short film The Door in the Woods).
More Québec movies
Quebecor Content and Club illico are boosting their investment in the production of Québec films. In 2021-2022, a host of films that sometimes incisive, sometimes amusing but always entertaining will debut exclusively on Club illico. Yan England’s SAM, released this summer, will be available for streaming on November 25, and MARIA starring Mariana Mazza, director Alec Pronovost’s first feature film, is coming on December 9. Monia Chokri’s second film, Babysitter, adapted from Catherine Léger’s play of the same name, and NIAGARA, a tragicomic road movie by Guillaume Lambert that follows the journey of three brothers who are forced to reconnect after the death of their father, will be available later in 2022.
More than ever, Club illico is the place to go for the best in French-language entertainment. Available across Canada to all viewers, whether or not they are Videotron subscribers.
About Club illico
Club illico, launched in 2013, is a Canadian subscription video on demand service that offers a large selection of French-language content. It provides unlimited access to an impressive catalogue of original television series, movies, exclusive series, children’s programs, documentaries and concerts from the largest Québec and foreign studios. Club illico is accessible to all, whether or not they are Videotron customers, through the Club illico app (iOS, Android and Apple TV) and at clubillico.com. Subscribers to Videotron's television service can also access Club illico through Helix or at channel 900 on their illico new generation set-top box, in addition to the Web and on iOS and Android mobile devices and tablets with the Helix and illico apps. For more details on Club illico, visit https://videotron.com/en/club-illico.
About Quebecor Content
Quebecor Content, a wholly owned business unit of Quebecor Media Inc., creates, develops, acquires, distributes and exports distinctive, high-quality audio-visual content, providing consumers with a multi-platform experience via the services of Videotron and TVA Group, and promoting Québec artists at home and abroad.
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Information:
Stéphanie Lauzon
stephanie.lauzon@quebecor.com
