Série Noire is a Canadian French-language black comedy crime thriller television series created by François Létourneau and Jean-François Rivard which was originally broadcast on ICI Radio-Canada Télé and ICI TOU.TV in 2014–2015, and ran for 22 episodes across 2 seasons. The series centers on Denis (Létourneau) and Patrick (Vincent-Guillaume Otis), the writers of a popular but critically reviled crime drama television show, "La loi de la justice" ("The Law of Justice"), as they embark on a real life crime spree following the end of their show's first season in the hope of accumulating the personal experience necessary to make the writing more realistic in its second season.
A Quebec production, every episode of the series was directed by Jean-François Rivard and written by François Létourneau and Rivard, and it starred Létourneau, Vincent-Guillaume Otis, Édith Cochrane, and Marc Beaupré, with narration provided by Bernard Derome, and music by Cristobal Tapia de Veer. The series was critically acclaimed and won eleven Prix Gémeaux awards in 2014 and four in 2016.
Contents
Premise
Denis and Patrick, two screenwriters approaching their forties, find themselves unwillingly tasked with writing a second season of their crime drama television series "La loi de la justice" ("The Law of Justice") — a show which is critically panned but unexpectedly popular outside Montreal. Realizing how little talent and knowledge of the criminal justice world they actually have, the pair turn to a series of increasingly improbable methods, recreating the situations from their show in real life in order to make their characters more believable.
Cast and characters
Starring
François Létourneau as Denis Rondeau, screenwriter of "La loi de la justice" ("The Law of Justice")
Vincent-Guillaume Otis as Patrick Bouchard, screenwriter of "La loi de la justice" and Denis's writing collaborator
Édith Cochrane as Judith Larivée, Denis's wife and partner
Marc Beaupré as Marc Arcand, a mentally unstable fan of "La loi de la justice" who approaches the two screenwriters due to sharing the same name as one of their show's characters
Bernard Derome as the Narrator
Recurring and guest
Anne-Élisabeth Bossé as Charlène (real name Julie Cantin), a sex worker
Charlie Laplante as Juliette Rondeau, daughter of Denis and Judith
Louise Bombardier as Louise Talbot, producer of "La loi de la justice"
Jacques L'Heureux as Henri Talbot, Louise's husband and producer of "La loi de la justice"
Alain Zouvi as the "Broadcaster", a network executive who broadcasts "La loi de la justice"
Guy Nadon as Jean-Guy Boissonneau, an actor playing the "Judge Boivin" character on "La loi de la justice"
Martin Drainville as Bruno / Yvan, a gynecologist and head of the "East Gay Gang (EGG)"
Hugo Dubé as Claudio Brodeur / Angelo Desand, Bruno's partner and "EGG" member
Martin-David Peters as Christian Perez, an investigator
Élisabeth Locas as Caroline Michaud, an actress playing the "Valérie" character on "La loi de la justice"
Sébastien René as Maître Marlin, a lawyer
François Trudel as Ghyslain Perron, an actor playing the "Pierre" character on "La loi de la justice"
Mathieu Dufresne as Grégory, a man whom Patrick looks into
Caroline Bouchard as Léa, Patrick's girlfriend and a literature teacher and novelist whose book failed commercially
Production
Development
Following its production and release, the series was cancelled at the end of its first season, which had consisted of twelve episodes. However, under pressure from viewers—including a petition that gathered more than 13,000 signatures—Radio-Canada reversed its decision, and a second season was confirmed in July 2014. Filming took place over the winter and spring of 2015, notably in Alma and Montreal. The second season comprised ten episodes.
In an interview on the program La soirée est (encore) jeune on January 9, 2016, François Létourneau said that the two creators—himself and Jean-François Rivard—felt that, between the first two seasons, they had "told the story they wanted to tell", seemingly closing the door on a potential third season.
Casting
Even before the series was renewed for a second season, the producers announced that public auditions would be held to fill one of the show's roles.
Technical credits
Creation: François Létourneau and Jean-François Rivard
Direction: Jean-François Rivard
Screenplay: François Létourneau and Jean-François Rivard
Narrator: Bernard Derome
Production design: Francis Tremblay
Costumes: Anne-Karine Gauthier
Cinematography: Martin Falardeau, Ronald Plante
Sound: Patrick Lalonde, Michel Lecoufle, Olivier Rivard
Editing: Yvann Thibaudeau
Casting: Isabelle Thez-Axelrad, Brigitte Viau
Music: Cristobal Tapia de Veer
Producer: Johanne Forgues
Production company: Productions Casablanca
Distribution company: CBC/Radio-Canada Distribution
Budget: $700,000 per episode
Episodes
Release
The first season of twelve episodes originally aired on the free over-the-air ICI Radio-Canada Télé channel in Q1 of 2014, from January 13 to March 31, and later that year it was made available online on the paid "Extra" tier of ICI TOU.TV, on September 15.
The second and ultimately final season, which consisted of ten episodes, was released on ICI TOU.TV "Extra" on November 6, 2015, and later aired weekly on ICI Radio-Canada Télé during Q1 of 2016, from January 15 until March 18.
Since June 2018, the complete series has been available on Netflix, viewable only in its original French version, with the option of English subtitles. Both seasons are also available online on ICI TOU.TV "Extra", and on Netflix in Canada.
Aftershow
Série Noire: L'obsession is a French-Canadian digital aftershow and companion web series created to accompany Série Noire. Hosted by media personality Sébastien Diaz, the web series aired on ICI Radio-Canada Télé immediately following the TV broadcasts. It featured the host, the show's creators (François Létourneau and Jean-François Rivard), and celebrity guests breaking down the episodes' most shocking, hilarious, and bizarre moments.
Music used in the series
The series features a number of needle drops—pre-existing songs used as part of the soundtrack—in addition to the original soundtrack (OST) score, which is composed by Cristobal Tapia de Veer.
Season 1:
"Do You Love Me Now" by Kim Deal and Kelley Deal
"Destroy Everything You Touch" by Ladytron
"Loaded Gun" by Lightning Dust
"Kill Me" by Make the Girl Dance
"C'est moi" by Marie-Mai
"Way to Blue" by Nick Drake
"This Is Not a Love Song" by Public Image Limited
"All the Things She Said" by t.A.T.u.
"Little Drummer Boy" by The Dandy Warhols
"April Skies" by The Jesus and Mary Chain
"Illusion" by VNV Nation
Season 2:
"House of the Rising Sun" by Demis Roussos
"Le Chat du café des artistes" by Jean-Pierre Ferland
"Do You Love Me Now" by Kim Deal and Kelley Deal
"Rock Me All Over" by Lee Aaron
"The Night Before" by Lee Hazlewood
"Come On Over (Turn Me On)" by Mark Lanegan & Isobel Campbell
Awards
The first season won eleven Prix Gémeaux awards in 2014, including Best Direction for a Dramatic Series (Jean-François Rivard), Best Writing for a Dramatic Series (François Létourneau and Rivard), Best Lead Actor in a Dramatic Series (Létourneau), Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Series (Guy Nadon and Louise Bombardier, respectively), Best Original Music and Best Theme Music (Cristobal Tapia de Veer), Best Sound (Patrick Lalonde, Michel Lecoufle, and Olivier Rivard), Best Editing (Yvann Thibaudeau), Best Production Design (Francis Tremblay), and Best Digital Production (a website and mobile app related to the series). The second season won a further four Prix Gémeaux awards in 2016, including Best Cinematography (Martin Falardeau), Best Casting (Isabelle Thez-Axelrad and Brigitte Viau), Best Original Music (Tapia de Veer), and Best Production Design (Tremblay).
Wins
Prix Gémeaux 2014
Best Direction: Dramatic Series (Jean-François Rivard)
Best Writing: Dramatic Series (François Létourneau, Jean-François Rivard)
Best Editing: Fiction (Yvann Thibaudeau)
Best Sound: Fiction (Patrick Lalonde, Michel Lecoufle, Olivier Rivard)
Best Production Design: Fiction (Francis Tremblay)
Best Original Music: Fiction (Cristobal Tapia de Veer)
Best Theme Music: All categories (Cristobal Tapia de Veer)
Best Lead Actor: Drama (François Létourneau)
Best Supporting Actor: Drama (Guy Nadon)
Best Supporting Actress: Drama (Louise Bombardier)
Best Digital Production (website and/or mobile app) for a program or series: Fiction (the website and app)
Prix Gémeaux 2016
Best Cinematography: Fiction (Martin Falardeau)
Best Production Design: Fiction (Francis Tremblay)
Best Casting: Fiction (Isabelle Thez-Axelrad, Brigitte Viau)
Best Original Music: Fiction (Cristobal Tapia de Veer)
Nominations
Prix Gémeaux 2014
Best Dramatic Series
Best Hair/Makeup: All categories (Djina Caron, Christel Piazzolla)
Best Lead Actress: Drama (Anne-Élisabeth Bossé)
Best Supporting Actor: Drama (Marc Beaupré)
Best Supporting Actor: Drama (Hugo Dubé)
Prix Gémeaux 2016
Best Dramatic Series
Best Writing: Dramatic Series (François Létourneau, Jean-François Rivard)
Best Lead Actor: Drama (François Létourneau)
Best Lead Actor: Drama (Vincent-Guillaume Otis)
Best Costume Design: All categories (Anne-Karine Gauthier)
Best Lead Actress: Drama (Anne-Élisabeth Bossé)
Best Supporting Actor: Drama (Guy Nadon)
Best Digital Production for a Fiction Series (Série Noire: L'obsession, hosted by Sébastien Diaz)