— Maison Close season 2 : episode 2.01 will start shooting in January 2012. Today there were rumors that Canal+ had cancelled the show in the middle of shooting episode 2.03 because it was too overpowering and anxiety-provoking, but it was quickly denied by Canal+ reps who said it's stupid given that shooting of season 2 hasn't even begun yet, and there's nothing to worry about. You may ask yourself why such rumors emerged despite Canal+ having renewed Maison Close since December 2010. Well, it's because last July, Canal cancelled Pigalle, la Nuit after having renewed it a long time ago. Season 1 (8 universally acclaimed, beautifully filmed, interesting episodes) aired in November/December 2009 and it was then announced that because of critical and public success, season 2 was ordered. Well, in the first semester of 2011, Canal+ didn't hesistate to say no to the creators who couldn't convince them to produce a second season after they saw the first drafts of the scripts : with the first draft, Canal thought the show became too esoteric & mystical, they wanted a more thriller-oriented approach. The creators came up with a second draft but it couldn't convince Canal+ either and they chose not to go through with it. Honestly, after watching the ending of episode 1.08, I wasn't too sure I wanted a 2nd season, the ending is perfect, a second season is not necessary at all. Besides, a main actor of Pigalle was killed on his bike a few weeks before the show premiered.
— Braquo season 2 : all 8 episodes were written by Abdel Raouf Dafri (Mesrine, Un Prophète). He was helped by David Defendi, co-author of the novel this show is based upon. Episodes 2.01 were directed by Philippe Haïm (Secret Défense) and episodes 2.05 to 2.08 were directed by Eric Valette (Une Affaire d'Etat, La Proie). Cameras started rolling in March.
For your information, episodes 1.01 to 1.04 were directed by Olivier Marshall (36, Quai des Orfèvres, MR73, Les Lyonnais) and episodes 1.05 to 1.08 were directed by Frédéric Schoendoerffer (Agents Secrets, Truands, Switch). Marshall, a former cop and co-author of the novel Braquo is based upon, wrote all 8 episodes, with the help of Frank Henry on episodes 1.03/1.04 and Yann Le Nivet on episodes 1.07/1.08.
— Mafiosa season 4 : all 8 episodes were written by the showrunner of both seasons 2 and 3, Eric Rochant (Les Patriotes, Total Western, L'école pour tous), alongside the co-creator and writer on each season, Pierre Leccia. Shooting of the first episode of the final season of the show started last May in Corsica.
— Kaboul Kitchen season 1 : this new comedy is set in Afghanistan but for obvious political reasons, they couldn't go and film the show over there, so Canal+ chose to shoot in Morocco. It started last April.
— Engrenages (Spiral in the UK) season 4 : the first of the 12 episodes of this new season started shooting on August 22nd and Jean-Marc Brondolo (Scalp, Reporters season 2) is directed it along with the next 5 episodes until December 9th. Production will resume on January 9th with Virginie Sauveur (Quelques jours entre nous, Celle qui reste) as a director for episodes 4.07 to 4.10. Canal+ still has to find a director for episodes 4.11 and 4.12, which are expected to be shot in March. This director might be either Gilles Bannier, Pascal Chaumeil or Philippe Triboit, who directed almost all of the first two seasons (16 episodes).
Season 4 is expected to premiere in May 2012 (or September 2012) on Canal+. As for the BBC premiere (because unlike the series I talked about above, Engrenages is exporting well), it might not be right after : season 3 aired from April 2 to May 7, 2011 on BBC Four while the Canal+ airing was 11 months before (May 3 - June 7, 2010).
Virginie Brac, 'sort of' the head writer on season 2, is sort of in charge of season 4. Eric de Barahir, a former cop, is still helping the writers and participating to the dialogues, he has done so since season 2. Other writers include Anne Landois, Sébastien Vitoux, Clara Bourreau, Simon Jablonka, Anne Viau and Kristel Mudry. Frank Henry (writer on Braquo) helped Virginie Brac coming up with the main plot.
After a prostitution network in season 1, a powerful narcotic network in season 2 and a serial-killer & corruption within the government in season 3, here's the plot of season 4 : a student is found torn apart by a home-made bomb, but that's just the tip of the iceberg that will lead Laure Berthaud and her team to a group of left-wing radical extremists whose purpose is total urban guerrilla. That's just one aspect of the season, there are some judiciary and political ramifications involving other main characters but so far there are not much details on their storylines.
— I don't have any news on Platane, I'm going to say a few words on this comedy though. I loved the pilot (watched it a few days ago) but I didn't watch the next two episodes right after. Thus, today, I caught up by watching 5 episodes (episodes 4, 5 & 6 aired last night). And let me tell you : Platane is an amazing show. Actually, it's much better than what I was expecting. Sure, somestimes you see how some comical plots will pan out but it's very enjoyable nonetheless. Each episode lasts 34/35 minutes and it's so good it feels like 20.
In the past few years, Eric Judor has had some success (especially on teenagers and young adults who grew up with his Canal+ sitcom H (1998-2002)) with some feature movies but I don't think anyone can honestly say that the humor used in those movies was smart or that the plots were well-thought-out (except in Seuls Two, imo). But here, I am impressed, all 6 episodes are hilarious. I'm telling you, I had one or two uncontrollable laughters in each episode (plus multiple laughs and I was smiling all the way, most of the time), for me that's a lot. Eric puts himself in such awkward, impossible situations, you feel bad for him but it's just so damn well written and funny, or sometimes you're outraged to see him being such an asshole. He's both the victim or the guilty one depending on the situations. If you get the opportunity to watch that show, trust me, do it. There are plenty of guest stars : Ramzy (Eric's old buddy) in episode 1.01, Pierre Richard in episode 1.02, Clotilde Coureau in episode 1.03, Monica Bellucci in episodes 1.04/1.05/1.06, Matthieu Amalric in episode 1.05, Guillaume Canet in episodes 1.05/1.06, Luc Besson in episodes 3 to 6 (only as a voice on the telephone though). And the worst part is that all these guests actually are useful to the story.
Here's I'm just thinking about a quote from episode 1.06 that I just finished, with Eric talking to Guillaume Canet, the director of Eric's movie (at that point of the episode, things went bad), here it is : "I mean, it's my baby, you know, I brought you here to take care of my baby, and now I come home and I realize the babysitter changed my baby's nose, added fake lips, big boobs and dressed him like a whore".
I'm thinking about all the storylines and how they interact with one another and you do feel the influence of Larry David's comical genius for handling several plots with a progressive escalade towards awkwardness + Ricky Gervais's mean/dark humor all over Platane. As a huge fan of both these guys (and so is Eric Judor, he told so himself in various interviews), I couldn't be happier. It's a smart, subtle and hilarious analysis of how movies get made (TV does get tackled in the first 2 episodes as well).
Why did I illustrate this post with promotional shots from Maison Close, you may ask ? Well, that way I thought maybe it would be easier for people to get through all that I have written (for the few of you that might be interested in Canal+'s shows) — and the reason I chose Maison Close in particular is because it's nicer to look at than Eric Judor's big bald head.
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