''Les Pays d'en haut'' (''The Upper Countries'') is a Canadian television drama series, which aired on
Ici Radio-Canada Télé
Ici Radio-Canada Télé (stylized as ICI Radio-Canada Télé, and sometimes abbreviated as Ici Télé) is a Television in Canada, Canadian Canadian French, French-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by the Can ...
from 2016 to 2021. The second television adaptation of
's 1933 novel ''Un Homme et son péché'' following the long-running ''
Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut
''Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut'' (''The Beautiful Stories of the Upper Countries'') is a Canadian television drama series, which aired on Radio-Canada from October 8, 1956, to June 1, 1970. One of the longest-running programs in the his ...
'' in the 1950s and 1960s, the series is a
historical drama
A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...
set in the
Laurentides
The Laurentides (, ) is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian Mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 C ...
region of
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
in the 1880s.
[Manon Dumais]
"Les pays d’en haut sans les belles histoires"
''Le Devoir
(, ) is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910.
is one of few independent large-circulation newspapers in Quebec ...
'', December 18, 2015.
The series centres on Séraphin Poudrier (
Vincent Leclerc
Vincent Leclerc is a Canadian actor from Trois-Rivières, Quebec. He is most noted for his performance in the 2018 film '' The Fall of the American Empire (La chute de l'empire américain)'', for which he received a Prix Iris nomination for Best S ...
), the mayor of the village of
Sainte-Adèle
Sainte-Adèle () is a municipality in Quebec, Canada, and is part of the Les Pays-d'en-Haut Regional County Municipality. It lies on Route 117 about north-west of Montreal. Its tourism-based economy centres on its skiing and hotel industry. Sai ...
, and his wife Donalda Laloge (
Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse
Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse (born August 16, 1991) is a Canadian actress from Quebec, most noted for her leading role as Donalda in the 2016-2021 television drama series ''Les Pays d'en haut''. The role garnered her a Gémeaux Award nomination for B ...
); Donalda, who was married off to Séraphin as payment for a family debt but does not love him, is also having an affair with Alexis Labranche (
Maxime Le Flaguais
Maxime Le Flaguais is the stage name of Maxime Côté (born 1982), a Canadian actor known for his leading television role as Alexis Labranche in the 2016-21 drama series ''Les Pays d'en haut'' and his performance in the 2022 film ''Rodeo (Rodé ...
).
Antoine Labelle
François-Xavier-Antoine Labelle (; November 24, 1833 – January 4, 1891) was a Roman Catholic priest and the person principally responsible for the settlement (or "colonization") of the Laurentians. He is also referred to as "Curé Labelle" ...
(
Antoine Bertrand
Antoine Bertrand (born November 24, 1977) is a Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series ''Les Bougon'' and the films '' Louis Cyr'', a role that earned him the Iris Award for Best Actor, and '' S ...
), the Roman Catholic priest who led the settlement of the Laurentians, is also a principal character.
As in the original series, it delves into the broader community and dramatizes the historical settlement of the region; according to series creator Gilles Desjardins, his interest in remaking the series stemmed from a desire to explore aspects of the story that Grignon could not have depicted on television in his era, including more explicit and graphic sexuality
[ and exploration of the darker aspects of the region's history, such as social unrest and rebellion against the power of the Catholic church.][Alexandre Dumas]
"«Les pays d’en haut» ou la condamnation du passé"
''Le Devoir
(, ) is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910.
is one of few independent large-circulation newspapers in Quebec ...
'', February 15, 2020. For instance, one storyline centred on a lesbian
A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
relationship between Donatienne (Kim Despatis) and Pâquerette (Romane Denis
Romane Denis (born April 12, 1998) is a Canadian actress.
She is most noted for her performance in the film '' Slut in a Good Way (Charlotte a du fun)'', for which she received a Prix Iris nomination for Revelation of the Year at the 20th Queb ...
), who eventually left to escape the moral judgement of the community.[
Other members of the cast included Roger Léger, Julie LeBreton, ]Paul Doucet
Paul Doucet (born 1970) is a Canadian actor known for his portrayal of Jean Duceppe in '' Jean Duceppe''.
Early life
Doucet was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970. He studied drama at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Career
His mo ...
, Michel Charette, Pierre Mailloux, Madeleine Péloquin
Madeleine Péloquin is a Canadian actress from Quebec. She is most noted for her performance in the 2011 film '' For the Love of God (Pour l'amour de Dieu)'', for which she received a Jutra Award nomination for Best Actress at the 14th Jutra Awar ...
, Marie-Ève Milot, Rémi-Pierre Paquin, , Mario Jean, Jacques Allard, David La Haye
David La Haye (born April 19, 1966) is a Canadian actor.
Career
He began his career in films in Yves Simoneau's ''Dans le ventre du dragon'' opposite such veteran stars as Rémy Girard and Pierre Curzi. With piercing eyes and an intense phy ...
, David Boutin, Claude Despins and Julien Poulin
Julien Poulin (; April 20, 1946 – January 4, 2025) was a Canadian actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He portrayed numerous roles in several popular Quebec films and series.
Elvis Gratton films
His most memorable role was El ...
.
Distribution
The series aired in four seasons of ten episodes each, and two seasons of six episodes each.
In 2021, the series was added to the international online streaming service Walter Presents
Walter Presents is a video-on-demand service of the UK's Channel 4, part of its streaming platform. Launched on 3 January 2016, it specialises in foreign-language drama and comedy with English subtitles. It is named after Walter Iuzzolino, w ...
, under the title ''True North''.
Awards
The series won the Gémeaux Award for Best Dramatic Series, Short Run (''saisonnière'') in 2016 for the first season. It was a nominee in the same category in 2017 for the second season, in 2019 for the fourth season and in 2021 for the final season.
Leclerc won the Gémeaux for Best Actor in a Short Run Drama Series in 2016,"Les Prix Gémeaux – In case you missed it"
''Northern Stars'', September 29, 2016. and was nominated in the same category for each of the show's followup seasons.
At the 2017 awards Labrosse was nominated for Best Actress in a Short Run Drama Series, Charette and Paquin were nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Short Run Drama Series, and Péloquin was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Short Run Drama Series. Charette was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Short Run Drama Series in 2018; in 2019 Bertrand was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Short Run Drama Series and Denis was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Short Run Drama Series; in 2021 La Haye was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Short Run Drama Series.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pays d'en haut, Les
2010s Canadian drama television series
2020s Canadian drama television series
2016 Canadian television series debuts
2021 Canadian television series endings
Ici Radio-Canada Télé original programming
Television series set in the 1880s
Television shows set in Quebec
Television shows filmed in Quebec