Join the French TV revolution with these Gallic greats
With a growing number of Gallic greats – such as Emily In Paris – on our streaming services, TV execs have commissioned a French TV revolution. Here’s our pick of the best.
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If you’re feeling sorry to say goodbye to Paris post-Olympics, then the good news is you can
extend your virtual stay on the small-screen.
For no sooner will the Paris 2024 team have recycled the last cardboard bed, than our gold-medal fashionista Emily is moving back to the City of Love for a fourth season of the deliciously cheesy Netflix series.
Kicking off on August 15, Emily in Paris is perfectly-timed for those of us craving one more brie baguette. For anyone who has never indulged in Darren Star’s joyful fashion-fest, Lily
Collins plays American Emily, who moves to Paris for work and embarks on a series of adventures with hot men and hotter clothes.
One of the best parts of the unashamedly American-fantasy-view of Paris is boss Sylvie, played by Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, who leaves you wanting more of the French actor.
The good news is, you can do just that – and get your French fix – with one of the growing number of Gallic greats on our streaming services. TV execs continue to commission so many shows, it’s being called a French TV revolution. Here’s our pick of the best:
Class Act
Top of the class is Tapie, or Class Act, on Netflix. This fictionalised biopic of working-class man made good, Bernard Tapie, is being called one of the best French TV shows of all time.
It follows the life of the French Donald Trump-type character, played by Laurent Lafitte, and its sharp, punchy plot, with clever twists and turns, made it a surprise winner at this year’s Baftas, beating Succession, The Bear and The Last of Us.
Call My Agent!
Also on Netflix is Dix pour cent, or Call My Agent! This show, which ran for four seasons, also stars the fabulous Leroy-Beaulieu and made a global star of Camille Cottin. It won an Emmy in 2021 after crossing over from French TV to the rest of the world. The action is set in a fictional talent agency and follows the agents’ interactions with their clients, played by the real actors, including Juliette Binoche, Monica Bellucci, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Sigourney Weaver. It also spawned a British version, Ten Percent, starring Jack Davenport and Lydia Leonard, on Prime.
Lupin
One of lockdown’s biggest hits came from France in the form of Lupin, when the world went loopy for the adventures of the gentleman thief. The series, starring Omar Sy as Assane Diop, became the most-watched non-English-language TV show on Netflix when it debuted in 2021 and has run for three seasons so far, with fans hopeful for a fourth.
La Maison
After its success with this year’s The New Look, the biopic of Christian Dior set in Paris during and after the war, and starring Ben Mendelsohn, Juliette Binoche and Maisie Williams,
Apple TV has announced a French-language family drama La Maison, set in a high fashion house. It follows the downfall of Vincent Ledu (Lambert Wilson) after a viral video and the brand’s struggle to reinvent. It launches on September 20 – just in time for Paris Fashion Week.
Alphonse
Amazon also has multiple French TV originals, including comedy-drama Alphonse, starring Oscar-winning actor Jean Dujardin as Alphonse. The story follows the “chameleon-like man on a mission to please women and satisfy all their wishes” (could you get a more French premise?). It co-stars Charlotte Gainsbourg and Marie-Christine Barrault.
Voltaire High
Another Amazon original is period drama Mixte, or Voltaire High, which follows the story of a boys’ school turning co-ed in the 1960s. It was filmed in the UNESCO World Heritage site Saint-Jean-d’Angély, in south-west France, and stars Pierre Deladonchamps and Nina Meurisse, also in Disney’s Everything is Well.
Ourika
If you prefer your French drama grittier rather than prettier, then Amazon’s new Ourika shows a different side of Paris. Set in the riots of 2005, the story follows Driss, played by Adam Bessa, who has to take over the family’s drug business. He’s pursued by ambitious new policeman William (Noham Edje).
Irresistible
Disney has also climbed aboard the French express and commissioned Irresistible, a rom-com starring Camelia Jordana and Theo Navarro-Mussy as Parisian podcaster Adele, who falls in love with researcher Arthur, only to be derailed by panic attacks. Mon dieu.
Everything is Well
Another new French-language series on Disney is Everything is Well. By which we mean nothing is, because this is a French series. This family comedy-drama follows the trials and tribulations of a clan coping with serious illness and stars Virginie Efira, Nicole Garcia and Sara Giraudeau.
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