As he prepared his return to the small screen, Stéphan Bureau wanted to bring the public together, highlight divergent ideas and give people a chance to express themselves.
Accustomed to a passionate live broadcaster and above all, the presenter always feels a certain excitement when going on the airwaves; “Nice drug,” he qualified during an interview granted to the QMI agency.
“It grabs us all. We have no choice but to deliver when it matters most. There is no safety net and that was part of the recipe for me. Create this tension, also for the spectators. […] What can happen by slipping will happen in front of them, what doesn’t work will appear in front of them, ”said the veteran animator, adding that he did not hate this idea of risk.
The formula is demanding and the pace is obviously very fast, “there’s no room for long periods in the slush,” he said, but the game is worth the effort and brings its share of excitement.
The closeness of the audience also helps set the tone and tension, and serves as a cue for the presenter to know where to apply pressure. “It’s almost a duty of anticipation from my point of view to be able to provoke something,” he continued, adding that preparation beforehand is crucial.
At the start of the season, Stéphan Bureau scored three goals with his new format. The first; that the show is easy to understand without constantly explaining or reminding the concept. The following; that there can be a voice for people who are not necessarily represented on all platforms or who do not think like the majority, including people who are not public figures. And the third; that there is a public buy-in – the last of the season has better ratings than the first.
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The duty to be representative
Stéphan Bureau recognized that there was still some work to be done in attracting young debaters to take part in the show and said he was nonetheless proud of the representativeness the project was able to bring to the fore. Especially in relation to the diversity of thought, economics and politics.
“When I multiply the diversity factors, there’s always going to be something missing, but I think we’re pretty successful at having a good chunk of the rainbow,” he said, adding that he’d like to bring in more regional sensitivity.
The idea is “to strive to represent the dynamic society we find ourselves in and most importantly not to strive to check boxes at the expense of what the show should be, which is a show of rigorous debate, in where different ideas overlap”. the moderator continued.
New employees
For the remainder of the season, The Upside Down returns to its usual formula, with the added flexibility to explore new forms of discussion when the topic lends itself. New elements will also be added, said Stéphan Bureau, namely five or six new people, including Marie-Claude Barrette, Serge Denoncourt and Louis T, who will be added to the “pool” of returning debaters.
Used a bit like a wild card to cater to certain issues or debates, the recruits will serve as “disruptive elements in the family,” the host specified.
“Le monde à l’envers” resumes its usual slot and will be broadcast on TVA this Friday at 8pm. Guy Nantel, Judith Lussier, Louis T. and Richard Martineau will be the debaters of the week, while Claude Legault will be the guest debater. On the guest side, comedian Julien Lacroix will be giving his first television interview since allegations of sexual misconduct have been made against him.
The eight meetings that shaped Stéphan Bureau at the start of the season:
• Ex-Paramedic Hal Newman, who sounded the alarm about a failing pre-hospital system;
• McGill Professor Martin Drapeau, who championed academic freedom;
• Wall Street Forecasting economist François Trahan, who described the impact of the coming economic crisis as “apocalyptic”;
• actor Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge, who appeared vulnerable in his interview after his stunt at the gala des prix Gémeaux a few days earlier;
• Former Quebec Prime Minister Lucien Bouchard, who has relied on recommended, even imposed, censorship by politicians;
• The children of blogger Raif Badawi, who criticized the Canadian Prime Minister for failing to secure their father’s release when he promised to meet him in person in Saudi Arabia;
• Filmmaker Xavier Dolan, who lamented the poverty into which Quebec’s culture has been plunged and the disastrous consequences it is having for new generations;
• The emergency doctor Catherine Falardeau, established for twenty years in Rouyn-Noranda, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, who decided to leave her region permanently after realizing that she was poisoned with arsenic.