19-2

Not to be confused with 192 (disambiguation).
19-2
Genre Police procedural
Created by
Written by
Directed by Daniel Grou
Starring
Composer(s) Nicolas Maranda
Country of origin Canada
Original language(s) French
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 30
Production
Executive producer(s) Sophie Deschênes
Running time 42 minutes
Production company(s) Société Radio-Canada
Release
Original network Télévision de Radio-Canada
Original release February 2, 2011 (2011-02-02)—April 1, 2015 (2015-04-01)
External links
Website

19-2 is a Canadian police drama television series. The show presents the lives of several fictional patrol officers of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (Montreal Police Service) as they deal with police business and politics, and their own personal conflicts and problems. The titular "19-2" is patrol car unit number two of the fictional "Station 19".[NB 1]

The series has been produced in two distinct versions. The original series aired in French on Radio-Canada beginning in 2011, and an English language adaptation premiered on Bell Media's Bravo channel on January 29, 2014.

Synopsis

Main character Nicolai Berrof's best friend and partner, Jean-Pierre Harvey, is shot while responding to a burglary. The resulting brain damage has left him permanently hospitalized. Replacing Harvey is Benoît Chartier, a veteran constable freshly transferred from the Sûreté du Québec, who is trying to escape his troubled past life in rural Quebec. While the series deals with the station's various law enforcement activities, it also focuses on the officers' personal problems: Chartier's schism with his family following his personal arrest of his own father, Berrof's ongoing divorce with Detective Latendresse, Tyler's struggles with alcoholism, Brouillard's poor anger management seeping into his married life, and Commander Gendron's constant struggle to protect the station's interests and reputation despite frequent pressure from the public and his superiors.

Towards the end of the first season, Chartier is given an undercover assignment within 19 by the SQ to expose a mole within the station. His hunt for the mole forms the majority of the second season's plot. At the same time, Tyler is slowly albeit unsuccessfully recovering from alcoholism, Brouillard and Pouliot build up a relationship after having been partnered together, and Gendron's daughter disappears amidst the discovery of a child pornography ring.

Characters

French version

English version

Episodes

The original French version started filming in 2010 and premiered on 2 February 2011 and ended on 6 April 2011. 39% of Quebeckers were watching the pilot when it aired. On 15 June 2011, the chain renewed the contract for another season, which was filmed in 2012 and premiered on 28 January 2013. It ended on 1 April 2013. By the end of 2013, Radio-Canada ordered a third season to be produced, which was filmed in 2014 and premiered on 28 January 2015. The series finale aired on 1 April 2015.

The English version was filmed by a different production studio for Bravo channel, who signed a two-season contract with it in 2013. The filming of the first season began in August and ended in October. The series premiered on 29 January 2014 on Bravo, with the first season ending on 31 March 2014. Season two was filmed from July until October 2014. It premiered on Bravo on 19 January 2015 and ended on 23 March 2015. On April 13, 2015, BellMedia announced that 19-2 was renewed for a third season. Filming for the third season was scheduled in the summer of 2015. Adrian Holmes and Jared Keeso reprised their roles as Nick Barron and Ben Chartier respectively.[1]

Differences between adaptations

The English version, although featuring the same general story plot and similar characters (with the exception of Berrof being a Caucasian and Barron being an African-Canadian), does present some differences. For example, in the French version of episode one, Chartier does not shoot a teenager when defending himself, while in the English version he actually does shoot him in the knee.

Reception

French version

Reviews have been positive overall. Quebec police forces have liked the series,[2] seeing a way to make viewers more aware of their daily lives.

During the first season, the show attracted about 1.3 million viewers per week, which made it the most popular series in Quebec of the winter.[3] It peaked at 1,447,000 viewers on 23 February 2011, and the season finale got 1,302,000 viewers, the top in its time slot.[4]

In its second season, critics unanimously praised the first episode,[5] which was based on the 2006 Dawson College shooting.[6] It was watched by 1,554,000 viewers, about 39 percent of the viewers that evening in Quebec.[7]

The series has been nominated for several awards, including the Prix Artis[8] and the Zapettes d'Or.[9] The series, with 18 nominations at the Gémeaux 2011, and won 12 at the gala that took place on 18 September 2011.

English version

Radio-Canada's English sister network, CBC Television, announced in 2012 that it was working on an English adaptation of the series.[10] CBC Television did not pick up the series for its 2013 season; instead, the English series will air on Bravo.[11] The English adaptation stars Jared Keeso and Adrian Holmes.[11] Season 2 of 19-2 premiered on January 19, 2015 on Bravo and featured a critically acclaimed 13 minute single shot with no cuts.[12] On April 13, 2015, BellMedia announced that 19-2 was renewed for a third season. 19-2 is Bravo's number one original series, reaching more than 3.3 million viewers. Season 1 is now available on CraveTV.[13]

The first season aired on Spike TV in the UK, where The Guardian said "This Canadian series, set in Montréal’s Precinct 19, boasts all the tropes of post-Shield police dramas: antiheroes, mavericks, shaky verité camerawork. Yet what 19-2 lacks in originality it makes up for in action from the off."[14]

Notes

  1. ↑ According to the SPVM SPVM Montreal Police site, they have 33 stations, none of which are currently numbered #19. The 2001 Annual Report showed that the former SPCUM Montreal Police had a station 19 covering the downtown east side and Plateau Mont-Royal.

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "19-2: la police adore | Louise Leduc | Télévision". Cyberpresse.ca. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  3. ↑ "Rue Frontenac - Des millions pour 19-2". Exruefrontenac.com. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  4. ↑ "» 19-2 finit en tête|Richard Therrien". Blogues.cyberpresse.ca. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  5. ↑ "La saison 2 de la télésérie "19-2 ": de retour dans le chaos dès ce soir! | Bible urbaine". Labibleurbaine.com. 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  6. ↑ Kelly, Brendan (2015-01-18). "Season two of 19-2 debuts with school-shooting episode | Montreal Gazette". montrealgazette.com. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "Sphere Media". Spheremedia.ca. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  8. ↑ "» Gala Artis: les nominations|Richard Therrien". Blogues.cyberpresse.ca. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  9. ↑ Nom. "Les nominations aux ZAPETTES D'OR 2011". Cestjustedelatv.tv. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  10. ↑ "English version of Quebec cop show 19-2 being made for CBC". The Gazette, August 22, 2012.
  11. 1 2 "English adaptation of 19-2 bounces from CBC to Bravo". The Gazette, June 12, 2013.
  12. ↑ School shooting sets the tone of 19-2's second English season from Montreal Gazette, January 18, 2015, retrieved 16 March 2015
  13. ↑
  14. ↑ Phil Harrison & Gwilym Mumford (2015-08-10). "Catch-up TV guide: from 19-2 to The Beer O’Clock Show". theguardian.com. Retrieved 22 August 2015.

External links

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