Season 1
To say that Simon desires to find love would be correct, but there’s more to it. Simon mainly wants to overcome his loneliness. His best friend, Jocelyn, helps fill that void, but Simon still yearns to feel desired. Unfortunately, his desire is chiefly directed toward men who don’t truly desire him—who only find him amusing, nothing more. In this first season, Simon indulges in the all-you-can-eat buffet of dating apps—after all, they’re fast, easy, and accessible—even if it means ending up with a broken heart. Yet, he never feels satiated. Simon is insatiable. His need for consolation is impossible to satisfy, to paraphrase the writer Stig Dagerman. After a series of rejections, Simon will try to pick up some dignity. He attempts to disconnect from the dating apps, yet he always comes back.
IN THE MEDIA
“Author, poet, and actor Simon Boulerice [...] reveals another facet of his talent by bringing his poetry-novel to the screen in a debut fiction aimed at an adult audience.”
CTVM.info, April 28, 2022
“Who better [than Simon Boulerice] to carry this autofiction-tinged narrative, in which the character Simon, a gay man in his thirties, flits from one app to the next in search of his soulmate, only to often be ‘rebuffed, ghosted’?”
Marc-Antoine Côte, Le Soleil, April 30, 2022
“The series reflects the eclectic nature of the encounters that Tinder and Grindr in this world can give rise to. A protean, atypical creation, where humor coexists with drama, dance, and poetry—sharing the stage with pertinent and contemporary reflections on loneliness and the quest for oneself.”
Anne-Frédérique Hébert-Dolbec, Le Devoir, May 6, 2022
Episode guide
Episode 1 - Rainbow School
Simon maintains a virtual relationship with Félix, a guy who is "away traveling." While he’s invited to read his books at an elementary school, he can’t help but flirt on dating apps.
Episode 2 - Notre-Dame Hospital
"Ghosted" by Félix and hospitalized after a diverticulitis attack, Simon wants nothing more to do with dating apps. He’s visited by his best friend, Jocelyn, and an embarrassing fan, and checks out the visitor of the patient sharing his room.
Episode 3 - St-Henri Gym
Simon is back on his feet and wants to meet someone. His date with Marc-Antoine is cut short when the latter tells him he finds him less attractive in person. The writer joins Jocelyn to get back in shape at the gym, but he still hasn’t moved on from Félix. He’s toying with the idea of finding him by hiring a private detective.
Episode 4 - Fifteen-Minute Walk from Champ-de-Mars Metro
Since it’s too expensive for his liking, Simon gives up on the idea of finding out who Félix is. After learning that Simon is a guest all week on The Liar, Marc-Antoine borrows the book Javotte from his roommate and, charmed by the author’s humor, invites him over again. Simon wrestles with his pride: should he go or not?
Episode 5 - Hotel of the Second Fiddles
Simon decides to hide from Jocelyn what happened with Marc-Antoine. He dives into a whirlwind of hookups, stretching himself thinner than ever across all corners of Montreal. Between two hookups, he meets with his agent to get an update on his audition to be a contributor on Sucré Salé.
Episode 6 - Live from Grandé Studios
Invited to the show En direct de l’univers, Simon is nervous about not singing well. It’s true he’s better with words than with notes, as pointed out by Camille, a non-binary photographer who captures his portrait during a rather electric photo shoot.
Episode 7 - Patrolling the South-West
Simon opens up to Roberto, a police officer he met on an app who suggests a sexual roleplay. The chemistry between them sends him into the stratosphere. At the gym, Jocelyn shows him a photo of his new fling: Marc-Antoine. Simon is stunned but swallows his shock and pain.
Episode 8 - A Stop in Trois-Rivières
Simon’s relationship with Roberto is fading — the latter is growing more and more distant. He’s hiding something. Simon is urgently sent to Trois-Rivières to host a dictation event. He engages in some hotel room tourism with a cheerleading coach. A brief moment of respite before the storm ahead…
Episode 9 - The Neighbors Downstairs
Ashamed, Simon is holed up at his parents’ house because a photo of him, bare-bottomed, is circulating online. Who could have stooped so low? Félix, without a doubt! Roberto comes to help: he’s found the address from which the photo was posted. It’s near the Old Port…
Episode 10 - My Room
Out of love for his friend, Jocelyn immediately ends his relationship with Marc-Antoine. The mystery of Félix’s identity is finally uncovered thanks to Jocelyn’s uncle — it’s time for the confrontation between Simon and “Félix.”
Technical sheet
Genre
Dramatic
Year of production
2022
Producer
Caroline Gaudette
Language
French
Credits
Original idea and screenplay
Simon Boulerice
Direction
Nicolas Legendre-Duplessis
Script editor
Vincent Bolduc
Cast
Simon Boulerice
Jocelyn Lebeau
Gabriel Lemire
Luc Senay
Josée Deschênes
Francis Ducharme
Jonathan Gagnon
Lucien Abbondanza-Bergeron
Tommy Joubert
Alex Miron-Dauphin
Éric Cabana
Alexandre Dubois
Séric
Sabri Attalah
Jean-Sébastien Girard
Leïla Thibeault-Louchem
Rosie-Anne Bérubé-Bernier
Sharon Ibgui
Chrystelle Quintin
Lamia Benhacine
Chantal Baril
Yves Desgagnés
Frédérike Bédard
Technical team
Director of Photography
Benoit Jones-Vallée
First Assistant Director
François Lalonde
Production Manager
Vincent Martel
Production Coordinator
Jean-François Raynaud
Set Manager
Alice Lefèvre
Prop Master
Frédérique Carrier
Prop Master
Samuel Morin
Head of Makeup and Hair
Marie-France Lamontagne
Production Sound Mixer
François Tremblay
Editor
Nicolas Legendre-Duplessis
Original Music
Maxime Hervé
