Empathie

Trio Orange

Drama
French     7.862     2025     Canada

Overview

Suzanne, a former criminologist turned psychiatrist, starts a new job at the Mont-Royal Psychiatric Institute, where she meets Mortimer, an intriguing intervention officer with whom she strikes up a friendship, and fascinating patients.

Reviews

Martin Oaks wrote:
**A Masterful Triumph in Mental Health Narrative** "Empathie" is one of the most deeply moving, daring, and successful productions in the recent streaming landscape. It chronicles the complex yet profound humanity of Dr. Suzanne Bien-Aimé, portrayed by the series' own creator and screenwriter, Florence Longpré. Suzanne is a brilliant former criminologist turned psychiatrist who decides to start from scratch by joining the staff at the Mont-Royal Psychiatric Institute, a maximum-security institution in Montreal. While grappling with her own emotional wounds, a tumultuous history of alcoholism, and the devastating personal grief of losing her wife and unborn child, Suzanne attempts to survive her own chaos by rescuing highly complex patients with criminal pasts. Suzanne's life is turned upside down when she forms a close, unpredictable friendship with Mortimer Vaillant, her peculiar intervention and security agent. Together, and surrounded by a cast of extraordinary patients who defy every stereotype, they discover that the true capacity to heal others has nothing to do with technical or academic perfection, but rather with the raw acceptance of their own weaknesses and flaws. This is one of those series capable of altering our emotional chemistry. Its originality lies in its absolute rejection of artificial idealization. The protagonist is a wonderful mess—a character that heavily reminds me of Fleabag in the eponymous series created by the great Phoebe Waller-Bridge in 2016. Suzanne Bien-Aimé is no flawless hero in a white coat either; she simply seems to drift through life, drowning herself in alcohol and isolating herself from the rest of the world. By weaving this vulnerability into the bleak reality of the Mont-Royal Institute, the series proves that the true vehicle for healing is pure empathy—a gratuitous, revolutionary act in a world obsessed with performance and judgment. "Empathie" makes you laugh and cry in the very same breath, doing so while dignifying psychiatry and avoiding gratuitous drama. The direction eschews any hint of morbid curiosity or clinical sensationalism, immersing us instead in a universe overflowing with warmth, tenderness, and a subtle sense of humor. The chemistry between the two leads is the very essence of the plot, backed by an impeccable supporting cast. "Empathie" is a breath of fresh air with a European flair amidst so much offering of unredeemed trash.

Similar

The Psychiatrist is an American television series about a young psychiatrist with unorthodox methods of helping his patients. Roy Thinnes played the title role of Dr. James Whitman. Luther Adler co-starred as Dr. Bernard Altman, the older psychiatrist with whom Whitman worked. Two episodes of the short-lived series, "The Private World of Martin Dalton" and "Par for the Course," were directed by Steven Spielberg. The regular hour long series ran from February 3, 1971 to March 10 of the same year. The pilot for the series, a made for TV movie called The Psychiatrist: God Bless the Children, aired on December 14, 1970. Actor Pete Duel was at the center of this 90 minute drama, as Casey Poe, a former drug addict who, after finishing a two year prison sentence, must battle his own personal demons, as well as the prejudices of others, in order to reenter society. Dr. Whitman is the psychiatrist who must break through Poe's resistance in order to help him form a new life for himself. Duel received much praise for his performance and reprised his role in the first regular episode of the series, "In Death's Other Kingdom." The Psychiatrist was an element in the wheel series Four in One, which NBC aired in the 10 PM Eastern time slot during its 1970-71 series. The Psychiatrist was the final series of the four to air, following the first-run conclusions of the other three components, McCloud, Night Gallery, and San Francisco International Airport. After all four series had completed their initial six-episode runs, reruns of the four were interspersed with each other until the end of the summer. Of the four elements, McCloud was picked up as one element of a new wheel-format series, the NBC Mystery Movie, and Night Gallery was picked up as a stand-alone series, while San Francisco International Airport and The Psychiatrist were cancelled with no further episodes ordered beyond the original six.

More info
The Psychiatrist
1971