France Televisions Orders ‘Lucky Luke’ With ‘Lost Bullet’ Star Alban Lenoir and Period Female-Led Racing Show ‘Rallye 82’ (EXCLUSIVE)
French public broadcaster France Televisions has commissioned a raft of new scripted shows, including “Lucky Luke,” an adaptation of the cult graphic novel, and “Rallye 82,” a 1982-set female-led racing show.
“Lucky Luke” is an adventure comedy directed by Benjamin Rocher and penned by Mathieu Leblanc and Thomas Mansuy, based on the “Lucky Luke” comicbook. The eight-part half-hour series is produced by Geraldine Gendre and Lionel Uzan at Federation Studios, and co-produced by Rémi Préchac and Julien Vallespi at Un pour tous productions, and Alban Lenoir at Homerun. Lenoir, the French star of Netflix’s action thriller series “Lost Bullet,” will play Lucky Luke.
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“Rallye 82,” directed by Julien Lacombe (“Missions”), takes place during the racing championship in 1982, where Michele Mouton, the only female pilot, beats the odds and wins the race. The script was penned by Lacombe and Haiga Jappain. Producers are Raphael Rocher and Eric Laroche at Empreinte Digitale.
The broadcaster’s slate was presented by several top executives, including Manuel Alduy, the head of cinema, international and young adults fiction. Alduy, who previously worked at Canal+ and Twentieth Century Fox, said France Televisions will look to invest in fewer shows skewing young adults in order to concentrate on delivering bigger and more ambitious shows going forward.
Other ambitious shows on France Televisions’ slate include “Surface,” based on Olivier Norek’s novel and produced by Quad Drama. The series revolves around a female police captain, Noemie Chastain, investigating on a cold case. The series is headlined by Laura Smet and Tomer Sisley (“Largo Winch”).
The broadcaster’s non-fiction slate includes “Insoupçonnable,” a docu-drama series adapted from the Patricia Tourancheau’s book “Le grêle était un flic” and directed by Elie Wajeman. It’s produced by Elodie Polo Ackermann at Imagissime, a Mediawan company, and Louis Grangé.
One of the many highlights of France Televisions’ slate include “In the Shadows,” a political thriller starring “Anatomy of a Fall” actor Swann Arlaud, as well as Melvil Poupaud and Karin Viard. The series is based on a novel by Edouard Philippe, the former French minister, and Gilles Boyer. It’s directed by Pierre Schoeller (“The Minister”) and journalist-turned-screenwriter Guillaume Senez. Producers are Marie Masmonteil at Elzévir Films and Marie Dubas at Deuxieme Ligne Films.
France Televisions’ roster was announced at Series Mania where the broadcaster’s president Delphine Ernotte also delivered a keynote during the Lille Dialogue.
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