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Escouade 99

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Escouade 99
Genre
Based onBrooklyn Nine-Nine by Dan Goor and Michael Schur
Developed byPatrick Huard
Written byBenoît Pelletier
Directed by
Starring
Music byAnik Jean
Country of originCanada
Original languageFrench
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes26
Production
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network
ReleaseSeptember 17, 2020 (2020-09-17) –
present

Escouade 99 (translation from French: Squad 99) is a Canadian French-language police procedural television sitcom, which premiered in 2020. Based on the American series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the series was developed by Patrick Huard and written by Benoît Pelletier, with its first season being directed by Patrick Huard, and the second season by Patrice Ouimet.

It premiered on September 17, 2020, on the Club Illico streaming service.[1][2]

Cast

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Criticism

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After the preview trailer premiered on the internet in August 2020, actress Melissa Fumero, who plays Amy Santiago in the original Brooklyn Nine-Nine, criticized the program for casting its versions of Amy Santiago and Rosa Diaz with Caucasian rather than Latina actresses.[3] According to Fumero, "while I understand the Latina population is [very] small in Quebec (& how many of them are funny actors?) the Amy and Rosa roles could’ve gone to ANY BIPOC so it’s disappointing to see that missed opportunity."[3] Talhí Briones, a Chilean Canadian writer and illustrator, also criticized the apparent whitewashing of Latina characters, as well as expressing concern about whether the series would retain Rosa Diaz's bisexuality.[3]

Writing for Le Devoir, Justine Robidas also expressed concern about the show's cast, praising it for casting Haitian Canadian actors Widemir Normil and Fayolle Jean Jr. as its versions of Captain Holt and Terry Jeffords, but noting the absence of any significant characters representing Quebec's large Maghrebian, Asian or indigenous communities.[4] She also asserted that the show was less an adaptation of Brooklyn Nine-Nine than a direct copy that missed much of what made the original show successful;[4] other sources have also commented that numerous scenes in the trailer seemed to be shot-for-shot copies of scenes in the original series.[5]

Conversely, Hugo Dumas of La Presse acknowledged the diversity issue, but wrote that in casting Black actors to portray the two main African American characters from the original, the show was already doing significantly better at representing cultural and racial diversity than most television series produced in Quebec.[2] Normil has also confirmed that his character, Captain Raymond Célestin, retains Captain Holt's status as a gay man.[6]

Writing for the Montreal Gazette, T'Cha Dunlevy covered the criticism by highlighting the stories of three Latina actresses working in Quebec (Ariane Castellanos, Sabrina Bégin-Tejeda and Ligia Borges), and their difficulties in getting cast for major non-Latina specific roles in Quebec film and television productions.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Sarah-Émilie Nault, "«Escouade 99»: Patrick Huard et les défis de l'adaptation québécoise". Huffington Post Québec, November 11, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Hugo Dumas, "Les sirènes de la diversité". La Presse, August 25, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Julian Mackenzie, "Quebec adaptation of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ faces backlash from actors and Quebecers". Toronto Star, August 25, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Justine Robidas, "«Escouade 99» ou l’histoire d’un rendez-vous manqué". Le Devoir, August 26, 2020.
  5. ^ Rebecca Shepherd, "French-Canadian Remake Of Brooklyn Nine-Nine Looks Utterly Bizarre". LADbible, August 23, 2020.
  6. ^ Cédric Bélanger, "Escouade 99: en Fardoche et en policier, Widemir Normil récolte ce qu’il a semé". Le Journal de Québec, February 1, 2020.
  7. ^ T'cha Dunlevy, "Quebec actresses of Latin descent resist the industry's urge to stereotype". Montreal Gazette, August 29, 2020.
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