The Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) has selected nine series to receive financial support as part of its television production assistance program.

Three animated series, four fiction and two docuseries are set to receive funding. SODEC offers the financial support in order to enhance the commercial potential of French-language productions outside of Quebec. Money went to both shows in development and those already on the air.

Among the series in development include Parallaxes’ Les Maudits. which is a 6 x 60-minute horror-fantasy based on the book series from Edith Kabuya, who is also writing the show. The series was greenlit by Crave last month and begins filming in spring 2025, with Sphere Abacus handling distribution. Les Maudits follows a teenager who is savagely attacked and killed, only to be brought back to life by a family friend.

Next is Passe au salon, which was created by Jean-Michel Anctil, Louis-Philippe Dandenault and Maxime Caron and tells the story of three generations of a family-owned funeral home. Written by Caron, Pierre-Louis Sanschagrin and Martin Forget, the series is set to broadcast on Groupe TVA in winter 2025 with Attraction handling the distribution. Christine Simard, Antonello Cozzolino and Brigitte Léveillé produce the series.

Also receiving support in its development stage is the series Guiby – Le superbébé (10 x 7 minutes), which is produced and distributed by Epic Storyworlds. Directed by Thierry Bouffard and written by Phil Ivanusec-Vallee, the series tells the story of a brave three-year-old fighting monsters. Inspired by the comic strip from Quebec author Sampar, it is set to be broadcast on Télé-Québec and the Epic Story Jr. YouTube channel.

The two docuseries to receive funding are Mathieu Vachon’s Les Vivalistes and Precious Flavours.

Les Vivalistes focuses on communities around the world that live in symbiosis with nature. The series is written by Lorenzo Sterzi and produced by Simon Michaud, Geneviève Gélinas and Denise Landry. Distribution is being done by TORQ le Groupe.

The eight-episode Precious Flavours from Lustitia Productions explores unique foods around the world. KO Distribution is on board. Renée Claude Reindeau serves as writer and producer while Dominic Leclerc directs. Both series are set to broadcast on TV5 in 2026, a TV5 spokesperson told Playback Daily.

Other series that received funding include Echo Media and Huminah Huminah Animation’s The Adventures of Toopy and Binoo directed by Greg Bailey and written by Katherine Sandford. The series is a revival of Echo’s popular Toopy and Binoo series and has been in preproduction since Sept. 30, a SODEC spokesperson told Playback Daily. The preschool comedy about a clumsy mouse and a mute cat is distributed by Echo’s distribution arm and is set to air on CBC, Radio-Canada, TFO and Toon-A-Vision.

Nish is a live action 10 x 30-minute youth series adapted from the novel Nish – Le Nord et le Sud by Isabelle Picard. The Kassiwi Média series hails from producer Julie O’Bomsawin, directors Brad Gros-Louis and Jean-François Proteau and writers Menahan O’Bomsawin, Louis-Martin Pepperall and Picard. Set to be broadcast on Radio-Canada and APTN, it focuses on two teenagers in the Innu community of Matimekush.

Passez Go’s Take Care, which is broadcast by Bell Media and distributed by Cineflix Rights, focuses on a young orderly taking care of a grandfather who slowly takes over his life and that of his lover. The series is directed by Félix Tétreault, Marie-Claude Blouin and written by Simon Boulerice. Both Take Care and Nish begin preproduction in 2025.

Happy Camper Média’s Mini-Jean and Mini-Bulle, is an animated series about secret agents in school. With PVP handling distribution, the series, directed by Karine Charlebois and written by Robin Balzano and Rébécca Potvin-Gravel, currently airs on Radio-Canada.

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