Categories
Société Radio-Canada (SRC) TV Network

Un gars, une fille

Network: Société Radio-Canada (SRC) TV Network

Broadcast Run: 1997 to 2003

Broadcast Medium: Television

Un gars, une fille was the biggest success story in terms of exporting Quebec TV productions. By 2008 there were 21 “Guys and Sylvies” around the world, that is to say, 21 regions that had their own version of Un gars, une fille: Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, English Canada, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Portugal, Quebec, Russia, Sweden and the Ukraine. Indeed, it was claimed that this made it the scripted format that had been sold the most often across the entire planet.

The main author of this weekly 30-minute program of sketches was Guy A. Lepage, who also played the role of the spouse of Sylvie Léonard.

The origin of this program dated back to 1996 when the talk show Besoin d’amour that was hosted by Guy A. Lepage was taken off the air. The latter then proposed to his producer to salvage the comedy sketches on the theme of couples that had been broadcast right before the commercial breaks. He then starting having fun stringing together end-to-end various scenes and sequences that had not been used in the final cut for the program. The scenes had no relationship one to the other, but Lepage quickly realized that by leaving a space between each one of them, it didn’t really matter. And so, the Un gars, une fille concept was born.

In 1997, the original concept created by Guy A. Lepage was broadcast for the very first time. Right from the get go, Un gars, une fille aroused a lot of interest with the general public, but also in the media. The charming couple formed by Guy A. Lepage and Sylvie Léonard won the hearts of the TV audience who would follow their numerous adventures for more than 8 years. The program would garner 24 Gémeaux Awards and 6 Félix Awards, leaving a lasting mark on the history of Quebec TV.

Shot outside the studio in authentic settings, the vignettes, which lasted anywhere from 40 seconds to one minute, were shot by one camera in a single long take. In the final cut, music was added, as well as bands and computerized after effects that were created specifically for each of the three program segments.

The Un gars, une fille repertoire included 130 episodes, one special, one documentary and 28 thematically based programs which grouped the original sketches together by subject.

Written by Yvon Chouinard – February, 2006