Quebec horror-fantasy book series to be adapted into a TV series

Les Contes interdits will be made into a series for TV. THE CANADIAN PRESS./HO-Courtoisie, Éditions ADA

The Quebec book series "Les Contes interdits" (Forbidden Tales) will be adapted into a television series, the publisher Éditions AdA and production company Attraction announced.

The two have signed an agreement, and the product will be aimed primarily at the international market.

"Les Contes interdits" comprises more than 40 books written by 15 different Quebec authors.

The literary series adapts popular tales such as Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz and Beauty and the Beast into horror novels for adults.

Gore and psychological horror intertwine in these novels set in contemporary Quebec.

"This is an incredible opportunity. I think it's the most common dream of all authors to see their work adapted for the screen," said Simon Rousseau, editorial director of Éditions AdA and author of several Contes interdits books.

Rousseau pointed out that the series of novels is the publishing house's "biggest success in recent years."

Most of the readers of these books are in fact women aged between 20 and 40.

While respecting the editorial line of Contes interdits, each author can keep his or her own style.

"The point is not to have the same style. We want there to be something for everyone," said Rousseau.

The author "would like the Quebecois side to shine through again" in the TV series.

"It's something that really stands out in this series. We almost always anchor our stories in Quebec, with Quebec characters," he said.

Attraction's aim is for the series to be distributed internationally, mainly in English.

"But that doesn't rule out subtitled or dubbed versions, or versions adapted for French-speaking markets," said Richard Jean-Baptiste, vice-president of business development and innovation at Attraction.

The platform on which the series will be broadcast is not yet known.

"We are in discussions with various broadcast partners, including both television and online platforms," said Jean-Baptiste.

The production company is initially aiming to produce one season of "Forbidden Tales" of five to eight episodes.

"We're immediately aiming for slightly longer formats per episode, so we're talking about 80, 90 minutes per episode. We want to turn them into a kind of TV movie," said Jean-Baptiste. "Because we're not closing the door on the possibility that, in certain markets, there might be theatrical releases."

Jean-Baptiste said that a good proportion of the filming will take place in Quebec.

"We even want to maximize certain elements that are found in Quebec, and that are also found in many of the tales, which is the north, the cold, the forest, the winter, which are quite specific to Canada, but also to Quebec," he said.

To those who are surprised that Attraction, which is also behind "Passe-Partout," is turning to horror, Jean-Baptiste said that there is a logic behind this choice.

"It's also the idea of a brand that we want to put in place, as we did with Passe-Partout, as we are doing with Les Contes interdits. It's part of the logic of being interested in brands," he said.

He also pointed out that horror fans represent "a very committed audience," which influenced the production company's decision to embark on the project.

The new series will probably be ready for broadcast around 2025, according to Jean-Baptiste.

This dispatch was written with the financial assistance of the Meta Bourse and The Canadian Press for news.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on July 24, 2023.