Unité 9

''Unité 9'' (or, in English, “Unit 9”) is a Québec television series broadcast from 2012 through 2019 on Radio Canada,Josée Guimond
«Téléromans: rires, larmes et hockey»
("Soap operas: laughs, tears and hockey") rchive ''Le Soleil'', 25 August 2012 (accessed 15 August 2020). the CBC French-language service. Created by dramatist Danielle Trottier, the show has since 2013 been syndicated on France's TV5Monde network.Fabien
«L’Unité 9 ouvre ses portes dès ce soir sur TV5Monde»
("Unit 9 opens its doors from this evening on TV5Monde"), ''Critictoo,'' 28 October 2013 (accessed 15 August 2020). The 169-show series has been one of the most-watched shows in Québec, with ratings of up to two million viewersHugo Dumas
«Unité 9 refusé à TVA»
rchive '' La Presse'', 18 December 2012, (accessed 15 August 2020). for the 44-minute episodes.

Synopsis

Marie Lamontagne, a mother of two, having been convicted for attempted murder, lives in Unit 9 of Lietteville, a federal penitentiary for women.Hugo Dumas
«Unité 9: rien à voir avec Karla Homolka»
("Unit 9: nothing to do with Karla Homolka") rchive ''La Presse'', 17 May 2012 (accessed 15 August 2020). As she adjusts to her new life in prison, with the help of other inmates, she learns about their relationships and why each of them was incarcerated, as well as the histories of the prison employees. In this new environment, Marie confronts Normand Despins, the prison director, who has a different conception concerning the rehabilitation of prisoners, and tries to show that everyone has the right to a second chance.

The fictional Lietteville is based on a real women's prison located in Joliette, Québec.

Series development

Danielle Trottier had the idea of making a series on the environment of a women's prison after reading Justice Louise Arbour's 1996 report of the ''Commission of Inquiry into Certain Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston'',Louise Arbour,
Commission of Inquiry into Certain Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston
', Public Works and Government Services Canada, 1996. {{ISBN, 0-662-24355-2. Accessed 10 September 2020. Trottier's study of that report was the initial motivation for her concern over the plight of imprisoned women: "I cried and was angry after reading this report," she recalls. "I knew right away that I had found a good vein, and I haven't stopped reading about it since."Pierre-Étienne Caza,
Danielle Trottier: derrière les barreaux d'Unité 9
', ("Behind the bars of Unit 9", in French), UQAM Entrevues, ''Inter'', Winter 2013, Vol. 11, No. 1 rchived Accessed 10 September 2020. She then spent five years in researching, which included visits to the Joliette women's prison. There she met several prisoners, whom she characterized as “intelligent, sensitive, extremely generous people, in the process of change.”Richard Therrien,
Unité 9: sept femmes en prison
' ("Unit 9: Seven women in prison", in French), 17 May 2012. Accessed 10 September 2020.

Series development began in earnest in 2008 with the TVA network's filming of two pilot episodes. By March 2010 the network had declined to commission more episodes, stating that they preferred targeting a more family-oriented audience. "I came with people who led rather turbulent lives. This wasn't the type of story they were looking for, and they had a perfect right to do so," Trottoir told ''Le Soleil''.Richard Therrien,
«Unité 9: une journée à Lietteville»
' ("Unit 9: a day at Lietteville," in French rchived, 23 March 2013, Le Soleil. Accessed 13 September 2020. A year and a half later, she and screenwriter- producer Fabienne Larouche jointly turned to Radio-Canada to support the production, and gained the go-ahead from that network in January 2012.

References

2012 Canadian television series debuts
2019 Canadian television series endings
Television shows filmed in Quebec
Ici Radio-Canada Télé original programming
2010s prison television series
Television shows set in Quebec
Imprisonment and detention of women
2010s Canadian crime drama television series