Groupe TVA : Paul Arcand Returns to TVA This Fall with Conversation secrète

Paul Arcand Returns to TVA This Fall with Conversation secrète

Quebec's most highly-respected interviewer, Paul Arcand, returns to TVA this fall with Conversation secrète, a series of 60-minute specials that goes beyond traditional interviews, inviting viewers to share intimate conversations in a format that's never been seen before in Quebec. Produced by Fair-Play in collaboration with Quebecor Content and directed by Jean Lamoureux, Conversation secrete will start filming in the spring of 2017 and air on TVA this fall.

This documentary series event will feature 10 encounters with exceptional guests, in a format that's conducive to revealing personal and professional secrets. Conversation secrète is adapted from the French series of the same name, airing on Canal+.

Sincere and Authentic Conversations

Conversation secrète gives Quebecers a closer look at well-known personalities through intimate, open conversations with no filters. Guests will come from all walks of life, including entertainment, business, politics and sports.

In this unique context, host and content producer Paul Arcand will conduct wide-ranging interviews as he strolls with his guests through the streets of Montreal or other cities, under the gaze of passers-by. The conversations and journeys will be captured by 10 or so mobile cameras, which will be discretely hidden along the paths chosen in each instance.

'TVA is extremely proud to welcome back the great Paul Arcand in a concept that's never been tried before in Quebec, produced by Guy Villeneuve and his team,' declared France Lauzière, Vice-president, Programming, TVA Group, and Senior Vice-president, Quebecor Content. 'We'll get to witness authentic conversations with engaging personalities, in order to learn more about them. Paul Arcand is clearly the best choice to conduct this type of interview and create an intimate atmosphere with his guests. His knowledge of the latest news, his candour and his wit, along with this unique director's approach, will allow him to take these interviews to the next level.' Ms. Lauzière adds that Jean Lamoureux was a natural choice for director: 'Jean is extremely sensitive, which allows him to seize and share emotions like no one else. The ability to capture a moment is at the very heart of the show's concept.'

This will be a highly anticipated return to TVA for Paul Arcand, who had hosted the show Arcand on the station from 2000 to 2005. 'What an enormous pleasure it is for me to be back on TVA, especially with such an exciting project,' explains Mr. Arcand. 'As soon as I saw this show in France, I immediately started thinking about which personalities I'd like to interview in this format. And viewers should know that everything they'll be seeing on the air will be authentic and spontaneous. In fact, they'll be listening in on the conversations from beginning to end.' 'It's a real privilege to work with Paul Arcand, and a wonderful production challenge for our team, which is very excited to deliver the Quebec adaptation of this original and innovative format,' adds Guy Villeneuve, Executive Producer, Fair-Play.

The Conversation secrète concept is an adaptation of the French TV series of the same name, which was produced by KM Production and aired on Canal+ from 2013 to 2016. In France, the show was hosted by one of the country's leading TV personalities, Michel Denisot. Since its creation, the series has welcomed a wide array of prestigious guests who have revealed themselves in a new light, including actors Vincent Cassel, Gérard Depardieu and Omar Sy, athlete Tony Parker, businessman Arnaud Lagardère, and politicians Alain Juppé, Christiane Taubira and Manuel Valls.