Kif-Kif (known as Roommates in English)[1] is a Quebec teen-oriented téléroman produced by Vivaclic and broadcast by Radio-Canada.

Kif-Kif
GenreComedy drama
Created bySylvie Tremblay
Written by
Directed by
  • Simon Barrette (main director)
  • Stéphan Joly
  • Michel Berthiaume
Creative directorStéphanie Bujold
Starring
Country of originCanada
Original languageFrench
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes189
Production
Executive producerJean-Pierre Morin
ProducerSylvie Tremblay
Running time24–25 minutes
Production companyVivaclic
Original release
NetworkRadio-Canada
ReleaseSeptember 11, 2006 (2006-09-11) –
September 2, 2008 (2008-09-02)

Plot

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The series center on a group of high school students—four girls and four boys—who live together at a Des Sables High School's residence.

Cast

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Production and broadcast

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Kif-Kif was produced by Vivaclic and was originally broadcast at Radio-Canada from September 11, 2006[2] on the 17h timeslot replacing Watatatow.[3] The company Tribal Nova developed an interactive website to be updated in real time as the series is broadcast.[2] The series was conceived with the working title Comme en Appart and selected by the Quebecor Fund in Spring 2005.[4] Episodes 105 to 189 were funded by the Canadian Television Fund with around $1.5 million.[5]

On April 18, 2007, Radio-Canada announced that Kif-Kif was cancelled and would stop to air in Winter 2007.[6] All 189 episodes were already shot by its cancellation time but only 104 had been broadcast by the network.[6] Among the reasons given by the channel were the poor ratings and a decrease in Canadian Television Fund to support youth-oriented shows.[6] Also, the show was failing to reach its target audience of 12–18 years[1] and was mostly seen by adults.[7]

The series rights were later sold to Latin America;[8] in Brazil, it was broadcast by Boomerang[9] and TV Brasil.[10]

Reception

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Kif-Kif's website was elected the best website at the Boomerang Awards[11] and the Gémeaux Awards.[12] At the 2007 Gémeaux Awards it received six nominations[13] and its episode 64 won the Best Screenplay in a Youth Program or Series.[14] In 2008, it was nominated for Best Youth Program or Series – Fiction at the Gémeaux Awards but lost to Ramdam.[15] It also received a French Award of Excellence from the Youth Media Alliance for the episode "Bye Julien".[16]

In 2007, the series was exhibited in the same timeslot of Grand-Papa and recorded an average of 127,000 viewers against 118,000 of its competitor.[17]

The Gazette's writer Gaëtan Charlebois praised the show's "solid acting" as well as its "jaunty" dialogues. However, he commented on the series's "bizarre aesthetic", saying: "Though Kif-Kif has the same shoestring budget as other such programs, it seems to show it more vigorously – almost revelling in its cheesy ugliness."[18] Steve Proulx of Voir criticized what he called "a trivialization of smoking", questioning its occurrence in a show broadcast by a public station. Proulx also stated there was some publicity for Neutrogena and Canadian Armed Forces and he criticized it too.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Roommates (seasons I and II)". Vivavision. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Tribal Nova produit Kif-kif sur le web" (PDF) (in French). Tribal Nova. September 11, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 28, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  3. ^ Savoie, Anne-Marie-A. (August 9, 2006). "Radio-Canada prend un virage jeunesse". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Québecor Média. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015 – via Canoe.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ "Spring 2005 round". Quebecor Fund. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  5. ^ "Broadcaster Performance Envelope Stream" (PDF). Canadian Television Fund. p. 25. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c ""Kif-Kif": la fin de cette série pour jeunes" (in French). ShowBizz.net. April 18, 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  7. ^ Roy, Caroline (October 6, 2008). "La télé pour ados en péril". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Québecor Média. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015 – via Canoe.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ "Critical acclaim for CTF productions on CBC/Radio-Canada" (PDF). CBC Television. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  9. ^ "TV a Cabo CTBC | Programação Desenhos Outubro | Araguari" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Algar Telecom. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  10. ^ "Espaço Dividido" (in Portuguese). TV Brasil. Empresa Brasil de Comunicação. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  11. ^ Charest, Carl (December 8, 2006). "12e soirée des Boomerangs réussie" (in French). Canoe.ca. Québecor Média. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ "Prix du Meilleur Site Web" (in French). Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  13. ^ Bouchard, Dany; Lévesque, Pascale (June 21, 2007). "Le Négociateur en première ligne". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Québecor Média. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015 – via Canoe.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ "Meilleur texte : émission ou série jeunesse : toutes catégories" (in French). Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  15. ^ "Les nominations". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Québecor Média. September 13, 2008. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015 – via Canoe.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. ^ "French Awards of Excellence 2008". Youth Media Alliance. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  17. ^ "Les antiquités prennent de la valeur avec le temps". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Québecor Média. October 26, 2007. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015 – via Canoe.ca.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  18. ^ "Rad-Can's afternoon scary but satisfying". The Gazette. Canwest. October 21, 2006. Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015 – via Canada.com.
  19. ^ Proulx, Steve (October 10, 2006). "Kessé ça?". Voir (in French). Communications Voir. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
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