French TV recommendation - Audrey est revenue

A few years back, I decided to work on my French and improve my understanding of French-Canadian culture by watching French-Canadian tv shows with the French close captioning on.

I discovered that the shows that work best for me are comedies because even though I don't understand everything that is being said, they still entertain me and make me laugh.

My current favourite is Audrey est revenue on Télé-Québec.

Although Audrey est revenue has a gentle sense of humour with frequent laughs, it is not really a comedy. It shows Audrey's progress after she comes out of a 15-year coma following a traffic injury on the night of her high school graduation.

The show is not one of those stories where the person out of the coma is just fine but has to comically learn about smart phones, social media and online shopping. 

Audrey is brain injured. She has to relearn how to talk, how to walk, and how to interact with her now divorced parents, her new stepfather and a half-sister born after she was injured.

I've seen all the episodes except the finale that airs tonight. Every episode, I've been blown away by the actor's performances. Without their explicitly saying so, they show how it is such a big deal for their characters that this loved one they thought would never come back to them, has come back. Even the actors with small parts, like the Paratransit driver, manage to subtly convey that their characters are aware of what a big deal it is that they're with Audrey.

Although the finale is being broadcast tonight, you can still stream all the episodes for free on the Télé-Québec website, or by putting the Télé-Québec App on your phone or tablet.

Random notes

One of the two writers of the show is Florence Longpré who plays Audrey and previously played Ada in M’entends-tu? Another awesome show available on Télé-Québec (all 3 seasons) and on Netflix (only the first two seasons but with English subtitles). 

The other writer of the show is Guillaume Lambert who grew up in Sorel-Tracy where the show is set. There are many scenic shots of the town that make me want to spend some time there the next time I'm on my way to Quebec City.

The show has been sold to France and Italy and won major awards, so I'm optimistic that we'll get a second season.

Trailer