A téléroman ("telenovel" or ''annual drama series'') is a genre of

French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, similar to a

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

or a

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

. In

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the ''téléroman'' genre is known as feuilleton télévisé (similar to a serial). ''Téléromans'' are one of the most popular television series formats in Québécois

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

and are also shown on French television. In Canada, all of the major francophone television networks air ''téléromans'', including the public broadcaster

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, which broadcasts them nationally, and the private networks

TVA The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a Federal government of the United States, federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, an ...

and

Noovo Noovo is a Canadian French-language terrestrial television network owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The network has five owned-and-operated and three affiliated stations throughout Quebec, although it can also be seen over-the-ai ...

TFO TFO is a Canadian French language educational television channel and media organization serving the province of Ontario. It is owned by the Ontario French-language Educational Communications Authority (OTELFO), a Crown corporation owned by the ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

has also produced one téléroman. In France, the TF1 network and the subscription channel

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

air ''feuilletons télévisés''. Some famous téléromans produced in France include ''Riviera'', ''Sous le soleil'', ''Plus belle la vie'' and ''Cinq sœurs''. One of the first téléromans on Canadian television was ''

La famille Plouffe ''La famille Plouffe'' was a Canadian television drama, more specifically a téléroman, about a Quebec City family that first aired in the French language on Société Radio-Canada in 1953. The show was created to fill a void in francophone telev ...

''. This ''téléroman'' proved highly successful, and has helped the genre become a staple on Canadian French television. English Canadian networks have also adapted a number of Québec téléromans for English viewers, including ''La famille Plouffe'', ''

Lance et Compte ''He Shoots, He Scores'' (french: Lance et compte) is a Canadian ''téléroman'', or television drama series, revolving around a fictional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The series aired from 1986 to 1989 on the Radio-Canada network, and re ...

'' and ''

Les Hauts et les bas de Sophie Paquin ''Les Hauts et les bas de Sophie Paquin'' (''The Highs and Lows of Sophie Paquin'') is a Canadian television comedy-drama series, which premiered on Radio-Canada in 2006. The show stars Suzanne Clément as Sophie Paquin, a single mother and busin ...

'', with varying degrees of success.

Notable téléromans

*''

Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut ''Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut'' 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 history of Canadian television, the series produced 4 ...

'' *''

Au nom de la loi ''Au nom de la loi'' ''("In The Name of the Law")'' is a limited-run Quebecois téléroman series on Ici Radio-Canada Télé. Ten 50-minute episodes were broadcast from September 15, 2005 to November 17, 2005. Synopsis In 1993, Simon Pelletier i ...

'' *'' La Bonne aventure'' *'' Chambres en ville'' *'' Le Cœur a ses raisons'' (actually a sitcom parodying soaps) *''

'' *''

Francoeur ''Francoeur'' was a Canadian television series, first aired by TFO in 2003. It was the first Franco-Ontarian téléroman. The series has produced 44 episodes to date. The series revolves around the Francoeurs, a Franco-Ontarian family in Easter ...

'' *'' Grand-Papa'' *''

'' *''

Plus belle la vie ''Plus belle la vie'' (More beautiful life) is a French television soap opera based on an idea by Hubert Besson and characters created by Georges Desmouceaux, Bénédicte Achard, Magaly Richard-Serrano and Olivier Szulzynger. On air since 30 Augus ...

'' *''

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

'' *'' Les Soeurs Elliot'' *''

Terre humaine ''Terre humaine'' (Human Earth) is a French-Canadian soap opera TV series written by Mia Riddez which originally aired on Radio-Canada from September 18, 1978 to June 4, 1984, totalling 229 episodes. Plot The show takes place in rural Quebec an ...

'' *''

Virginie ''Virginie'' was a French-language Canadian television series that aired Monday through Thursday on Radio-Canada (the French-language CBC television network). It debuted in 1996. The show examined the public and private lives of teachers, stud ...

References

Soap operas by genre {{Canada-tv-stub Television genres