Gallic TV has cause to celebrate.
French broadcast hit world records with this year’s Summer Olympics opening ceremony, for instance. Drawing 1.5 billion global views, the locally produced television event was the centerpiece of the global broadcast year, carrying viewers on an ornate Seine cruise (granted, with a few controversial pit stops along the route).
The subsequent, record-breaking games then cemented Paris as 2024’s premier TV destination — while encouraging hometown producers and international distributors to act on such familiarity.
Indeed, from fizzy procedurals to frosty whodunits, much of the scripted fare hitting this year’s Mipcom shares a passion for local terroir and a belief that such specificity can offer programing a competitive advantage.
“France’s great locations can be real assets,” says Newen Connect CCO Leona Connell, pointing towards South of France set procedurals like “Carpe Diem” and “Panda.”
“We often refer to such series as ‘blue sky procedurals,’ as they are sunny in both location and disposition,” Connell continues. “We’re very much in the world of sunlight, and that allows for a lighter touch with more humor. That transports viewers to a very warm and fun place.”
Within European territories — which remain France’s most reliable and insatiable export partners — Gaul’s welcoming backdrops and postcard vistas double as brand assets, selling the country alongside its audiovisual content.
“We always have to find that little difference,” especially when dealing with territories that have strong domestic audiovisual production sectors says France TV Distribution’s Julia Schulte. “A clear French setting and signature can set our series apart from similar productions in Germany and the U.K. by offering a very different universe.”
Whether for sunny procedurals like Newen Connect’s “Carpe Diem” and Mediawan Rights’ “Tom et Lola” — which both seize on the Mediterranean coast’s azure appeal — or France TV Distribution’s Paris-set factual offering “Unsuspected: Autopsy of a Two-Faced Killer,” each series leans into location.
“With the Olympics, we’ve very clearly seen that Paris is something that remains quite magical for the whole world, for the public, even in English-speaking markets,” says Schulte. “We sell French know-how in terms of production, but we also often sell French regions that have fans all over the world.”
In Cannes, France TV will roll out “Sea Shadows,” a primetime drama that mixes environmental thriller with creature-feature touches, which accents the Normandy coast’s more rugged natural terrain. That the well-budgeted series also accents spectacle and production value (“They really pulled out all stops,” says Schulte) rather directly ties into the landscape on display.
“This harsher light and maritime landscape are universal across all markets,” says Schulte. “Viewers relate to these [visuals]. So by going for a darker aesthetic, with a colder light, we can also bridge the gap with similar English-language and Nordic productions.”
To that end, with “Sea Shadows” and with a forthcoming, Northern France-shot drama set to be announced at Mipcom, France TV wants to leave a new impression.
“We can present a different shade of French fiction,” Schulte adds. “Beyond the sunny Cote d’Azur, we can also weave these more unsettling series with an authentic French identity by exploring the incredible landscapes of Northern France.”
Gallic producers also have cause for caution.
Yoked into a global marketplace more interconnected than ever before, the French industry can hardly escape a wider downturn. And in keeping with international market trends, France’s volume of TV commissions has dipped in 2024, with first-run content seeing a 2% decrease compared to this same period last year.
Scripted has taken the biggest hit, seeing overall commissions down 7%. And within this contracting landscape, the combined efforts of commercial free-to-air broadcaster TF1 and the global streamers have together accounted for 47% of all adult-skewing commissions.
(Meanwhile, public broadcaster France Television remains a key player in both unscripted and a lifeline for children and family content, commissioning the latter at a steady rate against wider marketplace reductions.)
“If you just look at the data, France is going to be down,” says Ampere Analysis co-founder Guy Bisson. “Does that mean French industry is screwed? No, because, at the moment, everything is down. There’s no other way to spin it, but that’s also not the full story.”
Perhaps that fuller story might be told with a look to Mipcom sales slates, which all echo a similar refrain: For French producers, more than ever before, crime really pays.
“The crime genre accounts for something like 50% of streamer commissions in Western Europe,” says Bisson. “And because the streaming market has effectively become the generalist market, that’s where all the activity is at the moment. Procedurals with a bit of sexual tension and romance thrown in are going to work very, very well.”
As luck would have it, that precise genre has become France’s leading scripted export in recent years, with the so-called light crime genre now the bread and butter of a country renowned for both.
Indeed, in recent years, France has established itself as a benchmark for light crime thanks to successful titles like “HPI” and ‘Tandem.” Overall, the genre balances investigation and everyday life, offering a lighter, more human approach, with an ability to blend intrigue and humor with a family friendly tone.
“The perfect blend of action, family and romance will appeal to a very wide audience,” says Newen Connect CCO Leona Connell. “With each episode self-contained, these crime dramas also feature an overarching story that keeps viewers coming back for more. These shows are quirky, with strong female characters who might be slightly flawed and whom viewers can relate to.”
Indeed, examples of the genre will abound in Cannes, represented by new offerings like Mediawan Rights’ “Tom et Lola” and Newen Connects’ “Carpe Diem,” as well by returning favorites like Federation Studios’ “A Case of Kin” and “Deadly Tropics,” among many more.
Alongside “Carpe Diem” — which follows a lawyer, wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, turned defender for those unjustly accused — Newen Connects’ lineup also features first-run titles like the family art-heist comedy “Cat’s Eyes” and procedural “Flashback,” which tracks a detective who travels back 30 years to become her unsuspecting father’s unexpected partner.
As the parent company of Newen Connect, and as France’s single-largest scripted drama commissioner, accounting for 27% of series orders this year, the free-to-air broadcaster TF1 has played a major role in meeting this growing market.
“The commissioning broadcasters really understand what’s required for these tough times,” says Connell. “TF1 has traditionally been the home for a lot of acquired U.S. content, so the commissioned programs have to be of great quality in order to stand alongside the studio fare. And these crime procedurals have worked really, really well — especially those with a lighter touch.
“Audiences don’t necessarily want the most intense programing,” Connell continues. “And if you’re trying to bring as wide a demographic as possible [showcasing] a flaws-and-all lead character that can both manage their own family life whilst being able to do their job is just a good reflection of today’s society.”
