Céline Bonnier, Marie-Joanne Boucher and Noémie O’Farrell star in the new series Witcheswhich comes to TVA on Monday with its mysterious aura and cinematic style.
The three actresses, friends and creators of the project portray strong women, all of whom are shaped by their youth spent in a commune with sectarian impulses led by their father.
The three half-sisters, who have not spoken to each other for 30 years, are characters at the peak of their talent, as the QMI agency discovered on Wednesday when viewing the first two episodes.
Photo agency QMI, JOEL LEMAY
Marie-Joanne Boucher during the press screening of “Witches” on September 6th.
Marie-Joanne Boucher stands out, especially at the beginning of the series. Her Élisabeth is a housewife who misses her distant husband Philippe (Patrick Drolet). There is a powerful scene with “Beth” with a bird and another in a swimming pool where her past traumas make waves. His character has a wide range, alternating between darkness and anger.
Photo agency QMI, JOEL LEMAY
Céline Bonnier during the press screening of the first two episodes of Sorcières on September 6th.
The eldest, Joanne (Céline Bonnier), who was born outside the city, is a journalist interested in women’s rights around the world. Alone in life and withdrawn, we meet her while she is in the field in China.
The youngest, Agnès (Noémie O’Farrell), is a life coach and, among other things, a fan of microdoses of MDMA. She ambitiously runs her own holistic care center. She dreams of having a child with her friend Sophie (Lamia Benhacine).
The reunion between the three women and the rest of the commune of Sainte-Piété, the village in Estrie where the community was located, was sparked by the discovery of a naked baby in a forest in the middle of the night. We wonder who left him defenseless there – he’s not dead – and who called 911 by changing his voice. This toddler serves as a spark plug for the intrigue.
Writers Marie-Josée Ouellet and Germain Larochelle, who are currently working with a collective of screenwriters on the final five episodes of the first season, said they enjoy “unraveling” all the layers of intrigue and the multiple implications at once. Present and past, which we enter through flashbacks.
These memories are often traumatic and buried for a long time. The discovery of the baby and the beginning of the investigation led by a new SQ lieutenant, Bastarache (Denis Marchand), bring fragments of a difficult past of the three sisters, but also of the residents of Sainte-Piété, including Luc (Stéphane Gagnon) and Mayor Roy (Julie Roussel).
Photo agency QMI, JOEL LEMAY
Julie Roussel plays the mayor of Sainte-Piété and is linked to one of the series’ three half-sisters.
Photo agency QMI, JOEL LEMAY
Stéphane Gagnon plays Luc, a man from Sainte-Piété who is destabilized after discovering a naked baby in the forest.
“Magical Realism”
The first episodes will be directed by Myriam Verreault, who speaks of “the greatest creative momentum of her career” with this project, which is reminiscent of the work of filmmaker David Lynch and creates “magical realism”. She shares the task of putting together the 26 episodes of the first season with Ian Lagarde. By the way, hats off to the music by Fanny Bloom and Thomas Hébert as well as the photography team.
TVA believes it has found a winning formula by combining events more commonly associated with heavy series with the annual series format. So there are no pointy hats, wands or pots here. Witches instead relate to femininity, sisterhood and spirituality.
Amalga and Quebecor Content’s goal is to get everyone in the family excited about Sorcières – especially the youngest ones who like American platforms – and to bring the series to other markets.
The first two episodes of Witches will air on Monday, September 11th at 8pm and 9pm.