A new game show aimed at family audiences and designed to promote the French language will air on television station Télé-Québec next winter.
The program, entitled 'La langue dans ma poche,' will be hosted by Anaïs Favron and singer-songwriter Mike Clay.
On Monday, Quebec announced almost $5 million in funding to support the production, which will run for 52 30-minute episodes until December 2025. The project will also include an educational component for use in schools.
"This is an extremely important agreement for the promotion of French in our cultural universe," said French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge at a press conference.
"There are all kinds of things happening in the French-speaking world. You can listen to things from elsewhere, translated things. But you're only as well served as you are (...) It makes for something that's more like us and brings us together," he added.
Broadcast once a week, the show will feature two different duos formed by a young person aged 10 - 16 and an adult. These teams will compete in a variety of French-related games.
"For example, there are self-correcting games where we play on text messaging systems where a word has been changed. You have to find the word and correct it. There are games based on proverbs and expressions," explained Favron.
According to Télé-Québec president and CEO Marie Collin, game shows represent an "attractive genre for more than one generation." The public broadcaster hopes to repeat the success of the scientific quiz show "Génial!', which has been on its airwaves for 14 years.
Filming is scheduled to begin this fall. Télé-Québec is looking for participants, who can register at lalanguedansmapoche.telequebec.tv.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 21, 2023.
