French television on Mipcom is riding the wave of “light” crime series

Gallic television has reason to celebrate.

The French broadcast, for example, achieved world records at the opening ceremony of this year’s Summer Olympics. With 1.5 billion views worldwide, the locally produced television event was the centerpiece of the global broadcast year, taking viewers on an artful Seine cruise (admittedly with some controversial pit stops along the way).

The record-breaking games that followed then cemented Paris as the top TV destination in 2024 – while encouraging domestic producers and international distributors to build on that familiarity.

In fact, many of the scripts appearing at this year’s Mipcom, from titillating procedurals to chilling crime thrillers, share a passion for local terroir and a belief that such distinctiveness can give programming a competitive edge.

“France’s great locations can be a real asset,” says Leona Connell, CCO of Newen Connect, pointing to practices established in the south of France such as “Carpe Diem” and “Panda”.

“We often refer to such series as ‘blue sky procedurals’ because they are sunny in both location and mood,” Connell continues. “We’re very much in the world of sunlight, and that allows for a lighter touch with more humor. It puts the audience in a very warm and fun place.”

In European territories – which remain France’s most reliable and voracious export partners – Gaul’s welcoming backdrops and postcard vistas serve as a brand, selling the country along with its audiovisual content.

“We always have to find that little difference,” says Julia Schulte of France TV Distribution, especially when it comes to areas with strong domestic audiovisual production sectors. “A clear French setting and signature can set our series apart from similar productions in Germany and the UK by offering a completely different universe.”

Be it for sunny procedural films like Newen Connect’s “Carpe Diem” and Mediawan Rights’ “Tom et Lola” – both of which capture the azure allure of the Mediterranean coast – or for the Paris-set reality series “Unsuspected: Autopsy of a Two-Faced Killer” from France TV Distribution “, each series is based on the location.

“With the Olympic Games we saw very clearly that Paris remains something 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 often also sell French regions that have fans around the world.”

In Cannes, France TV will release “Sea Shadows,” a primetime drama that mixes an environmental thriller with creature-like elements and highlights the harsher natural terrain of the Normandy coast. The well-budgeted series’ emphasis on spectacle and production value (“They really pulled out all the stops,” says Schulte) is more directly related to the landscape shown.

“This harsher light and seascape is omnipresent in all markets,” says Schulte. “Viewers relate to it [visuals]. So by opting for a darker aesthetic with colder lighting, we can also bridge the gap to similar English-language and Nordic productions.”

To that end, France TV wants to make a new impression with “Sea Shadows” and an upcoming drama filmed in northern France that will be announced at Mipcom.

“We can present a different nuance of French fiction,” adds Schulte. “Aside from the sunny Côte d’Azur, we can also connect these more disturbing series with an authentic French identity by exploring the incredible landscapes of northern France.”

Gallic producers also have reason to be cautious.

Integrated into a global market that is more interconnected than ever before, French industry can hardly escape a major downturn. And in line with international market trends, the volume of television commissions in France fell in 2024, with first-run content recording a 2% decline compared to the same period last year.

Scripted was the hardest hit, with total commissions down 7%. And within this contractual landscape, the combined efforts of commercial free-to-air broadcaster TF1 and global streamers have together accounted for 47% of all adult distortion commissions.

(Meanwhile, public broadcaster France Television remains a major player in both unscripted content and the lifeline of children’s and family content, commissioning the latter on a regular basis while discounting occurs in the market.)

“If you just look at the data, France will be down,” says Guy Bisson, co-founder of Ampere Analysis. “Does this mean the French industry is screwed? No, because everything is down at the moment. There’s no other way to spin it, but that’s not the whole story.”

Perhaps this larger story can be told by looking at the Mipcom sales lists, which all reflect a similar refrain: For French producers, crime really pays now more than ever.

“The crime genre accounts for about 50% of streamer commissions in Western Europe,” says Bisson. “And because the streaming market has effectively become a generalist market, that’s where all the activity currently takes place. Procedurals with some sexual tension and romance will work very, very well.”

As luck would have it, this very genre has become France’s leading screenplay export in recent years, with the so-called light crime genre now the be-all and end-all of a country known for both.

In fact, France has established itself as a benchmark for low-level crime in recent years thanks to successful titles such as “HPI” and “Tandem”. Overall, the genre balances investigation and everyday life, offering a lighter, more humane approach with the ability to combine intrigue and humor with a family-friendly tone.

“The perfect mix of action, family and romance will appeal to a very wide audience,” says Leona Connell, CCO of Newen Connect. “Because each episode is self-contained, these crime dramas also provide an overarching story that keeps viewers coming back for more. These shows are quirky, with strong female characters who may have a few flaws and that viewers can relate to.”

Indeed, there will be plenty of examples of this genre at Cannes, represented by new offerings like Mediawan Rights’ Tom et Lola and Newen Connects’ Carpe Diem, but also returning favorites like Federation Studios’ A Case of Kin and “ Deadly Tropics ,” among many others.

In addition to “Carpe Diem,” which is about a lawyer who was wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he did not commit and becomes a defense attorney for those wrongly accused, Newen Connects’ program also includes premieres such as the art theft Family comedy “Cat’s Eyes.” and the procedural “Flashback,” which follows a detective who travels back 30 years to become the unlikely partner of her unsuspecting father.

As parent company of Newen Connect and France’s largest scriptwriter, accounting for 27% of series orders this year, free-to-air channel TF1 has played an important role in satisfying this growing market.

“The commissioning broadcasters really understand what is needed in these difficult times,” says Connell. “TF1 is traditionally home to a lot of acquired US content, so the programs commissioned need to be of high quality to compete with the studio offering. And these criminal prosecutions have worked really, really well – especially the ones with a lighter touch.

“Audiences don’t necessarily want the most intense programming,” Connell continues. “And if you’re trying to appeal to as broad a demographic as possible [showcasing] A main character, with all his flaws, who can take his family life into his own hands and do his job at the same time, is simply a good reflection of today’s society.”