Obviously, the lack of daycare places was a tremendous creative force for authors Marc Auger Gosselin and Simon Larouche, who will offer us this winter the audacious series Qui a push Mélodie?, on Télé-Québec. Unclassifiable, this different proposition will take you to unfrequented territories, in a dark universe between thriller and black comedy… in a daycare!
There you will meet Louise, the austere director of the Raton Academy, a strict woman who enjoys managing her establishment as one would manage an infantry battalion. When Mélodie, a daycare worker, suffers a nasty fall down the stairs, everything changes. A child would have pushed Mélodie, but which one? The parents are urgently summoned and will have to find the child responsible for this fall, otherwise all the toddlers will lose their place at daycare. A threat that does not fail to have its effect. While everyone seems to have secrets to protect, both parents and staff, everyone will undertake their own little investigation in order to unmask the culprit. Meanwhile, an inspector from the ministry arrives on the scene, determined to find the flaw that will close the establishment permanently.
In this eccentric and very catchy proposition, suspicions and plots are on the menu, as much as applesauce and juice. The children, who are at the heart of the plot, are mentioned without ever being shown. We hear them scream and cry, their drawings cover the walls, their snot is found on their parents’ vests, but they are never on screen. In this context, the Rat Academy becomes the scene of a “murder mystery” thriller, where everyone has something to hide. The educator Mélodie is not as white as snow, nor Gérald the henchman who dreams of being able to work with children. Same thing for the director who seems to accept bribes. And what about the inspector who seems to have more of a connection to the Academy than she wants to let on? By skilfully navigating this story, the authors dare to tackle rarely discussed themes such as the scarcity of daycare places and the education of child kings, always in a playful and entertaining context.
Of course, it may take you a little time to get used to this unusual proposition. Who pushed Mélodie? does not resemble anything that has been done in Quebec until now, although we could see a link with Inspirez exhale. The visual signature of director Pascal L’heureux as well as the offbeat humor of the dialogues will surprise you before completely seducing you. After a few episodes, it will prove very difficult, if not impossible, to abandon this series in which we really want to know who the culprit is. We bet that the big reveal will be quite surprising!
Dressed in the trappings of a mistress of a manor, Chantal Fontaine plunges into gray areas in which we have not yet seen her and proves magnetic from start to finish. Alongside him, all the actors play the mystery admirably well, whether Jacques Lheureux, Annick Bergeron or Alice Morel-Michaud. On the parents’ side, who must navigate between suspense and humor, we find very skilful actors, such as Catherine Chabot, Jean-Simon Leduc, Jean-François Provençal, Penande Estime, Leila Thibeault Louchem and several others. Alongside them, you will laugh as much as you will be intrigued.
After watching the first three episodes of Who Pushed Melody?, we are more than impatient to discover the rest of the story. Here is a little television UFO which seems to have all the qualities of a great success. We suggest you put it on your calendar!
It can be seen starting Monday, January 6 at 7:30 p.m. on Télé-Québec.
