The turbulent times of one of Quebec’s most popular politicians will be brought to life again in René Lévesque II, a miniseries now shooting in Montreal and Quebec City for CBC/Radio-Canada.

The $6.5-million, four-hour show picks up where the 2005 René Lévesque mini left off, with Lévesque leading the separatist Parti Québécois to power in 1976, and raising the spectre of Quebec seceding from the rest of Canada. The sequel follows the bitter politics of the period, including the intense campaign for sovereignty in the 1980 referendum, the enhancement of the province’s language laws with Bill 101 and the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution by Trudeau in the ’80s.

Emmanuel Bilodeau (pictured), who received accolades for his interpretation of Lévesque the first time around, reprises his role, as does Pierre Gendron as Pierre Elliot Trudeau. RLII is again being shot in both French and English, for Radio-Canada and CBC, respectively, and will air in four one-hour parts on SRC and two two-hour parts on CBC next spring.

From Playback Daily