Inhale Exhale | A crazy second season for summer

The unspeakable series imagined by Sonia Cordeau will be back next summer, on Crave. After the wacky nightmare at the yoga retreat, the second season ofInhale exhale will take us into the dubious world of motivators, in spy thriller mode this time.

In summary: no more “Namaste” here. The new chorus will be more like: “You can do it! » “We are still on the theme of well-being, but on the side of the speakers”, summarizes the director Jean-François Chagnon (Appendices), hung last week between two takes, during a set visit. “Girls are going to infiltrate this environment. »

Good news for lovers of dark and absurd humor, with a hint of thrills: to the joyful team composed in particular of Sonia Cordeau, Virginie Fortin, Katherine Levac, Alice Pascual, Steve Laplante, Édith Cochrane and Marc Labrèche (who will make a few appearances , a “ghost of the past” type, they say), a pretty skewer will be added here. Let us mention: Émilie Bibeau, Emmanuel Bilodeau, Josée Deschênes, Simon Gouache, Simon Lacroix, Naadei Lyonnais, Luis Oliva, Lily Thibeault and Audrey Talbot.

The filming of the 10 new 30-minute episodes was coming to an end during our visit, in an old golf course in La Prairie, converted into a conference center, or rather a speakers’ lounge, for the purposes that interest us here.

Forget being behind closed doors in the forest. This macabre chapter has concluded, as we know, we are back in town, although in the “continuity of the story”, continues the director. Basically, without giving anything away: Sophie (Sonia Cordeau) therefore finds herself hosting Vicky (Virginie Fortin), struggling with survivor syndrome. Our ex-yogis (and not yonis!), now single and unlikely roommates, receive obscure threatening letters one morning. At the same time, their friend Geneviève (Katherine Levac, whose character will take up more space) falls under the spell of a motivator with a name as dubious as her intentions: Étincelle (played by Émilie Bibeau).

Social criticism… and comedy

Expect the same delusions, impossible scenes and unfiltered lines, with a not-so-subtle social critique well delivered. “The series was already very feminist,” confirms Jean-François Chagnon. There, we address the question of people turning to well-being, a bit as a replacement for religion. With people who are not necessarily benevolent…”

“The wellness industry fascinates me! », continues Sonia Cordeau, to whom we owe the original idea (alongside Jean-François Chagnon and Katherine Levac), the screenplay (with a helping hand from Frédéric Ouellet in script-editing) and the earthy character down and very lucid about Sophie, who looks a lot like her. “Obviously, more extreme and less nuanced than me. But yes, I resemble him, in his search for justice. And then the links she has with her friends, she adds. And his impatience. There’s a good comic effect to that! »

Speaking of comic effect, Sonia Cordeau finds the industry in general, and these famous speakers in particular, very inspiring. “They are often clumsy, say sentences that don’t make sense, but at the same time, they scare me. Because they fill a need and talk to people who have real problems…”

If the first season was compared to a kind of Seven encounter Scooby-BooSonia Cordeau sees this suite as a happy mix ofErin Brockovitch and of Scooby-Dooalways. “We are in a slightly more journalistic investigation, always in the same tone. »

“It’s an offbeat tone, almost cartoonish,” adds Virginie Fortin, who will swap her gloss here for new false nails, and assert herself a bit.

“It seems like I don’t see how else to write!” continues Sonia Cordeau. For me, laughter opens hearts,” adds the woman who uses the same process with her theatrical trio Projet bocal (notably with her play Showtimepresented in 2022). “It seems like I can’t stop myself from saying things about gender relations, women’s burdens, etc. “, she said, laughing.

Notice to those interested: if it’s up to her, the seasons could follow one another in the coming years: “I still have a lot of ideas. The wellness industry is endless inspiration! »

Coming next summer on Crave. Season 1 airs these days on Mondays, at 8:30 p.m., on Noovo. Several episodes are also online.