Bye Bye 2021: a nice review, tinged with viruses

The year-end television special for 2021 was a triumph, incorporating delightful surprises while adhering to its winning formula and avoiding questionable humor.

Pierre-Yves Roy-Desmarais, who launched the Bye Bye 2020 show the previous year, once again hosted the highly anticipated festive season program.

Bye Bye 2021: a delightful review, with a touch of viral matters”/>

PHOTO COURTESY HERE RADIO-CANADA TELE

The coronavirus, unexpectedly resurfacing, continues to impact various aspects of life. This year’s edition of Bye Bye, aired Friday night on ICI Télé, reflected this reality.

A stellar ensemble cast, featuring Dany Turcotte, Rock et Belles Oreilles, Sarahmée, Matthieu Pepper, Claude Legault, Patrick Huard, Sébastien Delorme, and Arnaud Soly, joined forces with returning favorites: Guylaine Tremblay, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, Mehdi Bousaidan, and François Bellefeuille.

On New Year’s Eve, Anne Casabonne, Julie Payette, Éric Lapointe, Michael Rousseau, Justin Trudeau, and Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge were among those playfully satirized.

PHOTO CREDIT: RADIO-CANADA TELE

The COVID-19 Impact

Kudos to the comedic skit The delightful inconveniences, retitled Goodbye Inconveniences for this broadcast, which masterfully highlighted the absurdities of public health measures like curfews, penalties for rule-breakers, and anti-vaccination rhetoric.

Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse’s portrayal of Véronique Cloutier – in the skit Vero’s Hot Take, a clever reference to the docuseries Loto-Méno – and Yannick De Martino’s depiction of David Goudreault – in a segment addressing workforce shortages – were especially memorable.

PHOTO CREDIT: RADIO-CANADA TELE

Guylaine Tremblay, famous for her portrayal of the Masked Singers host, delivered a powerful performance as Dominique Ducharme.

Claude Legault, unexpectedly back after a professional hiatus, reappeared as Denis Coderre, mirroring his role in government vaccination ads, colliding with Montreal’s city hall. Meanwhile, François Legault faced a satirical onslaught of accusations ranging from systemic racism and cultural misappropriation to the housing shortage.

IMAGE CREDIT: RADIO-CANADA TELEVISION

In the previous year, Bye Bye 2020 achieved record-breaking viewership in Quebec. Given the renewed lockdowns and the curfew imposed on New Year’s Eve, the 2021 edition of Bye Bye, a production helmed by Simon-Olivier Fecteau and Guillaume Lespérance, is poised to achieve similarly impressive ratings.