Montreal: Radio-Canada leads the nominations for the upcoming Prix Gemeaux with its cancelled comedy about four drag queens, Cover Girl, topping the list with 12 nods, including best comedy series and two best director noms, for François Bouvier and Louis Choquette. The sitcom by Sphère Média Plus is followed closely by SRC’s nightclub drama Minuit, le soir and its mystery series La Chambre No. 13 with 10 each.

Cover Girl ‘was recognized by the jury for its unique theme and its innovative style,’ said Charles Ohayon, president of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television in Quebec, upon announcing the hopefuls for this year’s French-language TV honors on Oct. 19.

Cancelled series did well in the nominations. Minuit, by Zone3, is heading into its final season, and La Chambre, from Productions des Années Lumière, ended last June. Both are up against another former series, Sphère Média’s suburban couple drama Vice caché, in the best dramatic series category. Vice caché was cancelled by TVA this year.

Two other SRC series are also up for best drama: Les Invincibles by Productions Casablanca – the story of four young guys in crisis – and the crime drama Au nom de la loi, from Productions Pixcom, which SRC also didn’t renew.

Au nom, received nine nominations in total. Producer André Dupuy says he’s thrilled with the Academy’s recognition.

‘The Gemeaux are important because the decision-making process is thoughtful,’ he says. ‘People watch the series and discuss them. It means a lot.’

The nominations are also noteworthy for what’s not on the list.

Fabienne Larouche, producer of the hit SRC series Les Bougon – c’est aussi ça la vie!, didn’t apply last year or this time, complaining that the awards are out of sync with popular Quebec tastes. And like last year, Quebec’s private networks TVA and TQS declined to participate in the Gemeaux, citing dissatisfaction with the way in which the Academy arrives at nominations and winners. Their absence mirrors that of CTV’s news department, which is sitting out this year’s Gemini Awards to protest an alleged pro-CBC bias.

Although independent producers whose programs are broadcast on TVA and TQS can still apply, the most important one, Julie Snyder, didn’t. Snyder declined to submit her wildly popular musical reality show Star Académie, seen on TVA.

This year’s awards will be broadcast on Dec. 9 on the SRC-owned cable channel ARTV.

For the full list of nominees, go to www.academy.ca/academy/regions/quebec