My vote for the best French television series would not include Versailles.
I was excited to watch Versailles but after three episodes I cannot say I’m hooked and far from it. The visuals are intriguing but that is where it stops for me. Perhaps it will warm up.
I will show my hand at the start here, I am a big fan of the French television series. I enjoy them for a variety of reasons not least because it is an excellent way to practise the language. Looking at my lists I must have a penchant for the police drama and the political intrigue.
I have four I have recently watched and others queued up; I think if you are in need of an escape and a little down time, look no further.
Let me know if you have any other wonderful series we should not miss. xv
The Best French Television Series
The Disappearance
“The Disappearance is an eight-part French police thriller mini-series, which was originally broadcast in France from 22 April to 13 May 2015, and inspired by the Spanish series Desaparecida.”
My latest watch and loving ever second; Lyon never looked so engaging.
Spin
“French political drama. The French President has been assassinated and deep political intrigue follows, with cabinet members all clamouring for power. The spin doctors leap into action, each pushing their own greedy agenda – and their own candidate.”
Watch both series; set in Paris that was enough for me.
Marseille
“After 20 years as mayor of Marseille, Robert Taro (Depardieu) enters into a war of succession with his former protégé turned rival Lucas Barres (Benoît Magimel).”
I will always watch Depardieu + Marseille; can’t help myself.
Spiral
“Engrenages (‘Spiral’) is about the judicial and law-enforcement system of France. The viewer follows follows the day-to-day activities of police detectives, lawyers, public prosecutors and judges.”
Watch every episode; probably one of my all time best series. Pierre is mine, that’s all I will say ;)
Unité 9
“Follows a French Canadian woman going to jail for 7 years for pushing her father down the stairs. As the story unfolds we get to see how this all came about and the reasons behind it. The story follows the woman in jail as well as her family on the outside.”
in the queue
19-2
“Character-driven drama, 19-2 revolves around the day-to-day life of two unwilling partners of the Montreal Police Department, Officers Nick Barron and Ben Chartier. These two beat cops patrol the urban sprawl of downtown’s 19th district, in cruiser No. 2. 19-2 is about the tensions and bonds that develop between two incompatible men of very different temperaments and life experiences.”
in the queue
Braquo
“Full of guns, knives, torture and the odd defenestration, Olivier Marchal’s Braquo is as brutal and brilliant a cop drama as you could hope for.”
“And the world of Braquo – a slang French term for a brutal heist – is far more violent than the knitwear-obsessed police dramas from Denmark. In fact, Braquo seems to push at the very limits of TV violence.”
A few episodes in; Not for the faint hearted.
Versailles
“In 1667, 28-year-old all-powerful king of France, Louis XIV, decides to build the greatest palace in the world – Versailles. But drained budget, affairs and political intrigues complicate things.”
So far it’s not as I had imagined. Tell me your thoughts on this one?
