Tag: television

In conversation: A French and American take on Emily in Paris

Emily in Paris is everywhere: causing people to rage on social media, making us dream of booking tix to Paris again (someday!) and paused on TV screens, as people WhatsApp their friends to moan about how unrealistic Emily’s (Lily Collins’) stratospheric social media success is – who gets 200 new followers after posting a photo of baked goods? – and then swooning over how gorgeous Frenchie Lucas Bravo (Emily’s neighbour, Gabriel), is.

Critics – in the US, UK and France – have complained that it’s clichéd, ridiculous, lacks diversity and is deeply culturally offensive. However, it’s also totally addictive, even if people are hate-watching it, with a viewership that includes teens, their parents, and every Sex and the City fan who was excited about the premise of sex – and Pat Field styling – in another city.

For those who haven’t seen it, Emily in Paris centres around Chicagoan Emily, who gets sent to Paris to work for a top French marketing agency when her boss falls pregnant. Clueless about the language and culture, she makes a series of faux pas that sees her branded a plouc (a hick) and ringarde (basic). But Paris is soooo beautiful and Emily’s boss, Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) and friend, Camille (Camille Razat), are soooo stylish, and the men are soooo dreamy…

One reason that Emily’s got everyone talking is that it touches on the big cultural divide between France and America. Who better to discuss the show then a Frenchwoman (CW founder Eleonore Dresch) and an American, kids’ editor, Jennifer Barton.
Continue reading “In conversation: A French and American take on Emily in Paris” →

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‘The Eddy’ On Netflix Shows The Gritty Jazzy Reality Of Paris

The first two episodes were directed by ‘La La Land’ director Damien Chazelle.

The new mini-series The Eddy has just been released on Netflix. The first two episodes were directed by La La Land director Damien Chazelle. This is no La La Land. The Eddy is certainly not a romance told through musical dancing numbers. It is a series that aspires to be gritty and true to Parisian living, without falling into the stereotypical postcard image of the city of lights.

The Eddy begins in a jazz club. A handheld camera follows a waiter as the house band performs on stage. The camera swirls from one side to the other, framing each band member in some very strange angles until it turns its attention to the audience, and settles on one man in particular, the main character of the series.

Continue reading “‘The Eddy’ On Netflix Shows The Gritty Jazzy Reality Of Paris” →

France’s Netflix Rival Salto Will Launch in 2020 

All those French shows you wish you could stream could now be available on a new French streaming service, Salto.

Today, French regulators gave the go ahead to three of the country’s major broadcasters to start a joint online video streaming service, Salto, which is expected to launch in early 2020.

France Televisions (a public company) and M6 Groupe and TF1 Groupe (two private companies) are partnering for the venture.

Billed as a French alternative to Netflix, the service will feature French content from a variety of broadcasters and studios as well as some live channels. France Televisions owns France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5 and France Ô, M6 Groupe owns M6, W9, and 6ter, and TF1 Groupe owns TF1, TMC, TFX, TF1 and LCI. To avoid creating a streaming monopoly for the channels, the streaming site’s three broadcasting backers agreed to limit the use of their own content on the site to 40 percent of the offerings available.

In a press release announcing the verdict, Salto stated that the three companies are “combining their forces and proposing an ambitious, local response to the new expectations of the public, all while further reinforcing their active participation in French and European culture.”

Hollywood Reporter noted that’s Salto’s budget would be about $56 million for the first year.

The announcement of the French streaming service came in June 2018, but it only became a reality when regulators gave the go-ahead on August 12. France’s national competition regulator, Autorité de la concurrence, specified in a press release that the trio of broadcasters will have to submit to a series of agreements that will reduce the risk of “coordination” between the broadcasters to acquire the rights to French programs. The three parent companies also won’t be able to cross-promote the platform and their channels.

France isn’t the first country to start its own streaming service. In the U.K., the two largest broadcasters, ITV and the BBC, are launching BritBox, which offers the “best of British” TV and movies. Once given regulatory approval, BritBox will go live, likely this year.

While BritBox is available in North America, it has not yet been announced if Salto will be available Stateside.

Source: France’s Netflix Rival Salto Will Launch in 2020 – Frenchly

Christine and the Queens Performs on Colbert

Christine and the Queens is back with a new album and a very new look.

Just as Héloïse Letissier became Christine with her harem of Queens, so does Christine, now, become Chris.

The enigmatic French pop star known as Christine and the Queens put out a new record this year with a bold new face on it, a male alter-ego similar to that of Lady Gaga’s Jo Calderone. Chris, the album and the persona, explores the complexity of gender and the privileges it affords some above others. And how better to show this off visually than with an androgynous dance explosion to her song “Comme Si,” from Chris, on the set of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert? Though Letissier switched to English language songs after hitting major league international fame (a trend often found among contemporary French pop singers), the song has a wicked French refrain that will get stuck in your head and have you dancing for hours.

 

Source: Christine and the Queens Performs on Colbert

List of French TV Series Available on VOD Platforms

The Film Department has prepared a list of some of the best French TV series available on VOD platforms as Amazon, Hulu and Netflix. With themes like sex (THE BORGIAS, MAISON CLOSE and VERSAILLES), murder, suspense (BRAQUO, THE BUREAU and WITNESSES), humor (CALL MY AGENT), and art, they are definitely worth a watch!

Source: List of French TV Series Available on VOD Platforms | French Culture