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The new Showtime ‘espionage thriller’ TV series “The Agency” based on the France-produced series “Le Bureau des Légendes” created by Éric Rochant, stars Michael Fassbender, Richard Gere and Jeffrey Wright, streaming November 29, 2024 on Paramount+:

“…in another expose of corrupt ‘deep state’ ’ practices rooted in government agencies…

“...the series is set within a department responsible for training and handling ‘deep-cover’ agents on long-term missions…

“…who live under false identities for years…

“…aiming to identify and recruit intelligence sources…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Showtime has released the key art and an “Inside the Agency” featurette for The Agency series, the espionage political thriller premiering with two episodes on Friday, November 29. Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers will be able to watch the premiere before its on-air debut.

A fresh take on the French drama Le Bureau des Legendes, the series follows Martian (Michael Fassbender), a covert CIA agent ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind reappears, romance reignites.

His career, his real identity, and his mission are pitted against his heart, hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.

Le Bureau des Legendes centers on the daily life and missions of agents within France’s principal external security service. It focuses on the “Bureau of Legends,” responsible for training and handling deep-cover agents on long-term missions in areas with French interests.

Paris-based Federation Studios has revealed a brace of new series at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest.

During a presentation at Tccf, Federation Studios president Pascal Breton said that a show from “The Bureau” creator Eric Rochant is in the works. Espionage thriller, “The Bureau” has been remade for the U.S. as “The Agency.” The new iteration will be “partly shot in Taiwan, partly in Europe and the Middle East,” Breton said.

“And this show will be English-speaking. This show will be global, and that’s where there could be a very interesting cooperation between Taiwan and France. That’s where we would create a new subsidiary of Federation in Taipei, and that’s where we want to create, new seasons of a new show that could become another hit globally, [the] first global show that we produce, and then maybe an American version of it,” Breton added.

Revealing further details,...

Showtime today revealed the trailer and premiere date for its upcoming espionage political thriller, The Agency. The series will premiere on Friday, November 29, with two episodes on streaming and on demand for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with Showtime plan before its on-air debut.

The title will launch exclusively on Paramount+ internationally in the UK, Canada, Australia, Italy, Germany, Latin America and Brazil.

The Agency features a star-studded cast, including two-time Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender and series regulars Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, Katherine Waterston, John Magaro, Alex Reznik, Andrew Brooke, Harriet Sansom Harris, India Fowler, Saura Lightfoot-Leon, Reza Brojerdi, and Richard Gere.

Hugh Bonneville is a guest star. The recurring cast includes Adam Nagaitis, Ambreen Razia, Bilal Hasna, David Harewood, Kurt Egyiawan, Ray Blk, Sabrina Wu, and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.

A fresh take on the critically acclaimed hit French drama Le Bureau des Legendes, the all-new political thriller follows Martian...

Nothing is personal.

On Thursday, Paramount+ with Showtime revealed the first trailer for “The Agency,” the upcoming spy thriller from producer George Clooney and director Joe Wright with Michael Fassbender in the lead role.

Fassbender plays Martian, a “covert CIA agent, ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind reappears, romance reignites. His career, his real identity and his mission are pitted against his heart; hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.”

Jodie Smith-Turner plays Fassbender’s former romantic partner, while Jeffrey Wright and Richard Gere star as CIA middle managers. Other members of the cast include Katherine Waterston, John Magaro, Alex Reznik, Andrew Brooke, Harriet Sansom Harris, India Fowler, Saura Lightfoot-Leon, and Reza Brojerdi. Hugh Bonneville is a guest star. Recurring cast includes Adam Nagaitis, Ambreen Razia, Bilal Hasna, David Harewood, Kurt Egyiawan, Ray Blk,...

Michael Fassbender is playing a game of cat and mouse on an international scale.

The actor and executive producer leads Paramount+ with Showtime series “The Agency” as Martian — a code name, we hope — a covert CIA agent who is ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. Yet when the love he left behind reappears, romance reignites — and it threatens his career, his real identity, and his mission.

The political thriller co-stars Richard Gere, Jeffrey Wright, and Jodie Turner-Smith. Additional cast members include Katherine Waterston, John Magaro, Alex Reznik, Andrew Brooke, Harriet Sansom Harris, India Fowler, Saura Lightfoot-Leon, Reza Brojerdi, Adam Nagaitis, Ambreen Razia, Bilal Hasna, David Harewood, Kurt Egyiawan, Ray Blk, Sabrina Wu, and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.

George Clooney executive produces the series; Joe Wright executive produces and directs the first two episodes.

“The Agency” is an adaptation of French drama “Le Bureau des Legendes,” which centered...

Paramount+ with Showtime today revealed the first photos from its espionage political thriller The Agency, starring Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Richard Gere.

Currently in production in London, The Agency is commissioned by Showtime Studios and produced in association with 101 Studio. George Clooney and Grant Heslov are executive producers through Smokehouse Pictures.

A fresh take on the critically acclaimed hit French drama Le Bureau des Legendes, The Agency will debut on demand and streaming for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with Showtime plan before its on-air debut.

The series will stream internationally on Paramount+ in the UK, Canada, Australia, Italy, Germany, Latin America, Brazil, and Japan. The series is co-distributed internationally by Paramount Global Content Distribution and Federation Studios. The premiere date will be announced soon.

In addition to Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Richard Gere, the previously announced cast includes series regulars Katherine Waterston, John Magaro,...

British star Jodie Turner-Smith has become the latest to join Showtime’s The Agency series.

The Queen & Slim and Acolyte star will play Sami Zahir, a professor of social anthropology who has a history with Martian, played by Michael Fassbender. The splashy cast, which also includes Jeffrey Wright and Richard Gere with George Clooney exec producing, has been teased slowly over the past couple of weeks.

Based on French series Le Bureau, the Paramount+ with Showtime thriller follows Martian, a covert CIA agent ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind reappears, romance reignites. His career, his real identity and his mission are pitted against his heart.

“Jodie Turner-Smith is a force who captivates audiences with her raw, emotional power,” said Nina L. Diaz, President of Content and Chief Creative Officer, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks. “We are thrilled...

Richard Gere is set to star opposite Michael Fassbender and Jeffrey Wright in The Agency, the upcoming espionage political thriller series for Paramount+ with Showtime. Gere settled on The Agency, executive produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, after fielding offers for multiple high-profile series over the past couple of months.

A remake of the French series Le Bureau des Legendes, The Agency follows Martian (Fassbender), a covert CIA agent, ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind reappears, romance reignites. His career, his real identity and his mission are pitted against his heart; hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.

Gere will play the series regular role of Bosko, the London Station Chief with a storied past after serving as an 8-year undercover agent.

Currently in production in London, The Agency is commissioned by Showtime Studios...

Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) has been tapped to star opposite Michael Fassbender in The Agency (fka The Department), George Clooney’s remake of French political drama series The Bureau.

The political thriller follows Martian (Fassbender), a covert CIA agent, ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind reappears, romance reignites. His career, his real identity and his mission are pitted against his heart; hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.

Wright will play Henry, the Director of Operations and mentor to Martian (Fassbender).

“Jeffrey Wright doesn’t just portray characters – he inhabits them completely, infusing each role with raw, emotional power and profound, psychological insight,” said Chris McCarthy, Paramount Global Co-CEO and President/CEO, Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios. “We are thrilled to have him join Michael Fassbender and our creative dream team of Joe Wright, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth,...

George Clooney’s remake of French political drama series The Bureau has officially found its lead.

Michael Fassbender is now confirmed to star in the series, which is now known as The Agency, having previously been titled The Department. Fassbender will also exec produce alongside Clooney and Grant Heslov through their Smokehouse Pictures banner.

Given a straight-to-series at Showtime in 2023, The Department will premiere on Paramount+ with Showtime later this year.

The series follows Martian (Fassbender), a covert CIA agent ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind reappears, romance reignites. His career, his real identity and his mission are pitted against his heart; hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.

It is produced by 101 Studios and Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios.

It is based on The Bureau, which was created by Eric Rochant and ran...

Paramount+’s spy thriller The Department is starting to fill out its ranks.

The drama series, based on the French hit Le Bureau des Legendes, has tapped Joe Wright (Atonement, 2005’s Pride & Prejudice) as director of the first two episodes and Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (Ford v. Ferrari, Edge of Tomorrow) to write all 10 installments. The series, which comes from Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, is aiming for a premiere date later this year on Paramount+ With Showtime.

The Department snagged a straight-to-series order in February 2023 at Showtime (shortly after Paramount Global announced the premium cabler would effectively be folded into Paramount+). At the time, George Clooney was announced as director, but he has ceded those duties to Wright. Clooney and producing partner Grant Heslov remain executive producers of the series, via their Smokehouse Pictures.

“Joe Wright is a visionary director with a gift of focusing on...

Director Joe Wright and writers Jez and John-Henry Butterworth have all boarded the upcoming Paramount+ series “The Department.”

The Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios series, which was announced with a straight-to-series order in February 2023, is based on the French drama series “Le Bureau des Legendes” created by Eric Rochant. Wright will direct the first two episodes and executive produce, while the Butterworths will writer and executive produce all episodes. George Clooney was originally announced as directing the series. He and Grant Heslov remain onboard as executive producers via Smokehouse Pictures.

“Joe Wright is a visionary director with a gift of focusing on intricate details to craft immersive and visually striking stories,” said Chris McCarthy, President and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios. “And, Jez and John-Henry are masterful writers whose witty and emotionally charged language dives deep into their characters’ moral complexities, while simultaneously creating a propulsive narrative. Bringing these powerhouse...

Joe Wright, director behind the Golden Globe and multi-bafta winning films Pride and Prejudice, The Darkest Hour and Atonement, is set to direct and executive produce The Department, based on the acclaimed French espionage political thriller The Bureau, from George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures, MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios. Wright replaces Clooney, who initially was slated to direct the series.

Also boarding the series are Tony Award-winning writer Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth, who will executive produce and pen all 10 episodes. Clooney and Heslov will executive produce through their Smokehouse Pictures along with David C. Glasser and 101 Studios.

Given a straight-to-series at Showtime in 2023, The Department will premiere on Paramount+ with Showtime later this year.

Michael Fassbender is reported to be in talks to star in the series.

“Joe Wright is a visionary director with a gift of focusing on...

Michael Fassbender may be teaming up with George Clooney for a new Showtime series.

The 46-year-old Steve Jobs actor is in talks to star in the new espionage thriller series The Department, which will be directed by the 62-year-old Oscar-winning actor, Variety reports.

The show, which is set begin filming this spring in London, is based on The Bureau, the hit French spy show created, directed and produced by Eric Rochant.

Keep reading to find out more…“The Department, based on the riveting and brilliant series The Bureau, will follow in the great tradition of Homeland, one of the most successful and brand-defining shows at Showtime,” Chris McCarthy, President/CEO, Showtime and Paramount Media, previously revealed. “Just as Homeland elevated global espionage to new heights, The Department will take viewers even deeper into a world of intrigue and subterfuge with complicated characters who struggle with their own demons as they...

Having returned from an acting break in a big way last year via Next Goal Wins and David Fincher's The Killer, Michael Fassbender is headed for TV. He's in talks to star in George Clooney's next stab at the small screen, espionage drama The Department.

If he makes a deal, Fassbender will lead the series, adapted by Eric Rochant from his show The Bureau, which was a big hit when it ran in France between 2015 and 2020, and starred Mathieu Kassovitz.

Assuming it keeps to the storyline of the original, the series would follow a spy who is great at his job, but has trouble when he returns home from a years-long mission. Caught between agencies and an illicit affair he had while pretending to be someone else, he struggles to let go of false personalities. The show will likely also touch on geopolitical themes and psychological issues.

Clooney...

The Killer and Prometheus star Michael Fassbender could go behind enemy lines for The Department, a forthcoming espionage thriller series with George Clooney (The Boys in the Boat) at the helm. With Clooney in the director’s chair, filming for The Department kicks off in London this spring. The project, which has a straight-to-series order by Showtime, is based on “The Bureau,” the hit French spy show created by Eric Rochant. In addition to his role as the project’s director, Clooney is producing alongside Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures, MTV Entertainment Studios, and 101 Studios.

The original French show starred the “bureau des légendes,” Matthieu Kassovitz as Guillaume Debailly — alias Paul Lefebvre, alias Malotru – a member of the “bureau des légendes,” the mythical powerhouse within the French Secret Service and its daredevil ghost agents. Malotru returns home after completing a six-year mission in Damascus. While struggling to retire his...

Michael Fassbender is in negotiations to star in “The Department,” an espionage thriller series executive produced by George Clooney.

Set to start shooting in London this spring, “The Department” is based on “The Bureau,” the hit French spy show created, directed and produced by Eric Rochant. It has already been given a straight-to-series order by Showtime. The series is produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures, MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios.

The original French show starred Matthieu Kassovitz as Guillaume Debailly — alias Paul Lefebvre, alias Malotru — a member of a clandestine branch of the French Secret Services (Dgse) who returns to his home base after a six-year mission in Damascus. As he struggles to let go of his false identity and illicit affair with a Syrian woman, he finds himself playing a double game between the Dgse and the CIA. The show was a smash hit on...

Federation Studios, the Paris-based indie production and sales outfit behind popular French series “The Bureau,” is preparing to hit the sales block, Variety has confirmed.

Federation Studios has started discussions with investment banks in recent weeks for an advisor role, according to Reuters, which was first to report the news and said the banner could be valued at over €500 million ($535 million).

The company, which was founded by industry veteran Pascal Breton, indeed started these preliminary talks with financial advisors months ago and is looking sell to large chunk of the outfit, if not a majority stake, according to sources. The sales process could be launched during the first half of 2024. Federation Studios declined to comment on the reports.

Federation Studios previously ramped up its international business with the backing of Montefiore Investment, a French private equity firm which invested €50 million into the outfit in 2021. Several companies are already potentially interested in the asset.

French production powerhouse Federation Studios is investigating strategic options that could include its full or partial sale, according to a Reuters news agency report on Thursday.

The report said that the Paris-based company been auditioning investment banks for an advisor role in recent weeks.

One source told Reuters that the company could begin an auction process next year, but the report also added that the current talks might not lead to any concrete sale plans.

A potential deal would see the company valued at around 500 million euros ($535m), it added.

Prolific French producer Pascal Breton launched Federation in 2015 and it has since grown into one of Europe’s leading production groups, with landmark shows including The Bureau and Around The World In 80 Days.

Montefiore Investment agreed to put €50m into the company in staggered phases in 2021, to accelerate its international grow.

The rest of the privately-owned company is mainly in the hands of Breton.

Exclusive: The Bureau creator Eric Rochant is today formally unveiling his production banner, Maui Entertainment, which has quietly launched with backing from Federation Studios.

In an exclusive interview to announce Maui, Rochant said creative talent “must be at the origin and center” of its projects, with a business model geared towards helping new writers and producers become showrunners. He also revealed he was working on a spy drama and a series with Spanish writer Isabel Coixet.

“I learned from Todd Kessler, who made Damages and Bloodline, that a good series must come from a writer who can explain why he’s the only one who can make a specific show,” said Rochant.

Maui quietly launched last year up with a Disney+ order, for Tout va Bien (Everything is Fine), but today marks its market launch. We can reveal the series is due to launch on November 15.

The eight-part show is from Camille de Castelnau,...

French TV sales broke an all-time record of €214.8 million ($230 million) in 2022, a 15.4% year-on rise, bolstered by premium TV series such as Newen’s procedural “Hpi,” Federation’s spy series “The Bureau” and Banijay’s period show “Marie Antoinette,” according to a study unveiled by the National Film Board and promotion org Unifrance.

The French org credited the spike in French TV exports to the end of the pandemic and the delivery of fresh content, as well as the return of in-person markets and business travel.

French linear channels still remain the main buyers of local TV content, accounting for 49% of sales, on par with 2021. But deals with streamers have played an increasingly significant role in recent years and represented 43% of all TV sales in 2022, compared with 33.5% in 2021 and 4.6% in 2013. As such, the U.S. was the leading export territory for French TV programs last year, partly thanks to U.S.

Disney+ will move forward on two new French series, tackling questions of euthanasia with “Lambert v. Lambert,” and intimacy in the social media age with the literary thriller “Les enfants sont rois.”

Adapted from a recent page-turner by “Based on a True Story” author Delphine de Vigan, “Les enfants sont rois” (“The Children Are Kings”) follows a reality-tv has-been turned mommy vlogger who fills her social media feeds with daily updates about her two precocious children. When her older daughter disappears and is thought kidnapped, the bereft momfluencer faces a police investigation that calls into question the very existence of child.

Described in one review as a mix of “Madame Bovary” and “Nineteen Eighty-Four” that plays as a “thriller, essay and court drama,” the caustic novel spans three decades, beginning with the rise of reality TV in 2001 and ending with an epigraph attributed to Stephen King: “We had a...

Writer-director and producer Craig Gillespie has signed a first look deal with Tomorrow Studios, a division of ITV Studios.

The deal solidifies and expands the Australian filmmaker’s relationship with the company, with which he already collaborates on Season 3 of “Physical.” Gillespie serves as a director and executive producer on the Apple TV+ series, along with Tomorrow Studios’ CEO Marty Adelstein and president Becky Clements.

Gillespie recently executive produced and directed episodes of “Mike” and “Pam & Tommy.” His film work includes the Oscar-winning “I, Tonya,” “Cruella,” and “Lars and the Real Girl.” He’s slated to direct a “Chippendales” movie starring Elle Fanning and Seth Rogen, as well as the sequel to “Cruella” and “Dumb Money,” a star-studded dramedy about the Wall Street GameStop debacle.

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Paramount Global CEO Says David Nevins’ $3 Billion Showtime Offer ‘Wasn’t That Interesting to Us’

“I’m thrilled to be working with Marty,...

Craig Gillespie has entered a first look deal with Tomorrow Studios, a subsidiary of ITV Studios.

The deal represents an expansion of Gillespie’s partnership with Tomorrow, as the studio is already behind the Apple TV+ comedy series “Physical. Gillespie serves as a director on “Physical” and executive produces alongside Tomorrow Studios CEO Marty Adelstein and partner and president Becky Clements.

Along with “Physical,” which is currently in production on its third season, Gillespie’s television credits include serving as a director and executive producer of Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” and “Mike.” In film, he is best known for directing “I, Tonya,” “Cruella” and “Lars and the Real Girl.”

“As we continue studio growth, having likeminded partners becomes of even greater importance, and we share with Craig a great passion for producing compelling scripted television projects,” said Adelstein and Clements. “This first look deal is a great addition to...

Showtime is teaming up with George Clooney.

The cabler on Monday handed out a straight-to-series order for The Department (working title), an adaptation of Le Bureau des Legendes.

Clooney and Grant Heslov will executive produce through their Smokehouse Pictures, with MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios set to produce.

"The Department, based on the riveting and brilliant series The Bureau, will follow in the great tradition of Homeland, one of the most successful and brand-defining shows at Showtime," said Chris McCarthy, President/CEO of Showtime and Paramount Media.

"Just as Homeland elevated global espionage to new heights, The Department will take viewers even deeper into a world of intrigue and subterfuge with complicated characters who struggle with their own demons as they fight existential threats to the nation and the world."

Le Bureau centers on the daily life and missions of agents within France's principal external security service.

It focuses on the "Bureau of Legends,...

George Clooney will direct and executive produce a political thriller series for Showtime called “The Department,” which has been given a straight-to-series order by the network. Clooney and Grant Heslov will executive produce through their Smokehouse Pictures with MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios set to produce.

The show is based on the acclaimed French drama series “Le Bureau des Legendes,” and Showtime and Paramount Media President/CEO Chris McCarthy compared this American adaptation to the network’s Emmy-winning hit series “Homeland.”

“’The Department,’ based on the riveting and brilliant series ‘The Bureau,’ will follow in the great tradition of ‘Homeland’, one of the most successful and brand-defining shows at Showtime,” said McCarthy. “Just as ‘Homeland’ elevated global espionage to new heights, ‘The Department’ will take viewers even deeper into a world of intrigue and subterfuge with complicated characters who struggle with their own demons as they fight existential threats...

Showtime has said, “Mais oui!” to a straight-to-series order for an adaptation of the hit French spy drama Le Bureau des Légendes, with George Clooney on board to executive-produce as well as direct.

Created by Eric Rochant and airing for five seasons from April 2015 to 2020, Le Bureau centered on the daily life and missions of agents within France’s principal external security service — the “Bureau of Legends” — who are responsible for training and handling deep-cover agents on long-term missions in areas with French interests. Living under false identities for years, these agents’ missions are to identify and recruit good intelligence sources.

Showtime has given a straight-to-series order to The Department (w/t) based on the acclaimed French espionage political thriller The Bureau, from George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures, MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios. Clooney will direct the series and also executive produce with Heslov through their Smokehouse Pictures. Production is slated to begin later this year.

Created by Eric Rochant, Le Bureau centers on the daily life and missions of agents within France’s principal external security service. It focuses on the “Bureau of Legends,” responsible for training and handling deep-cover agents on long-term missions in areas with French interests. Living under false identities for years, these agents’ missions are to identify and recruit good intelligence sources.

The Department, based on the riveting and brilliant series The Bureau, will follow in the great tradition of Homeland, one of the most successful and brand-defining shows at Showtime,” said Chris McCarthy,...

Showtime has given a straight-to-series order to the political thriller series “The Department,” with George Clooney attached to direct.

Clooney and Grant Heslov will also serve as executive producers via Smokehouse Pictures. The show is based on the French series “Le Bureau des Legendes.” Production is slated to start later this year.

“‘The Department,’ based on the riveting and brilliant series ‘The Bureau,’ will follow in the great tradition of ‘Homeland,’ one of the most successful and brand-defining shows at Showtime,” said Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime and Paramount Media. “Just as ‘Homeland’ elevated global espionage to new heights, ‘The Department’ will take viewers even deeper into a world of intrigue and subterfuge with complicated characters who struggle with their own demons as they fight existential threats to the nation and the world.”

Per the official logline, the original show centers on “the daily life and missions of...

VFX powerhouse MacGuff is using its proprietary tools Face Engine and the new Face Creative Engine, in conjunction with traditional CGI, on a slew of French and international projects for streamers and French broadcasters.

France is one of the world’s biggest VFX hubs, leveraged by its Trip scheme, that enables foreign shoots to tap into a 40 cash rebate on all eligible expenses – including expenses for live action that are not VFX related – for international projects whose VFX expenses surpass €2 million (2.16 million) spent in France.

Philippe Sonrier, MacGuff’s co-founder and joint director, says that the studio is seeing rising demand from streamers. The studio has 70 staff, but plans to grow to around 120 in 2023, due to rising demand.

For Netflix, MacGuff is providing VFX work on three series, including Season 3 of “Lupin,” having worked on Seasons 1 and 2. “Wonderman” is about the life of French empresario Bernard Tapie, in which the studio uses de-ageing tools.

Snd has picked up the international distribution rights to “Visions,” Yann Gozlan’s (“Black Box”) psychological thriller starring Diane Kruger (“Inglorious Basterds”) and Mathieu Kassovitz (“The Bureau”).

The French Riviera-set movie, produced by Eagles Team Entertainment, 24 25 Films and Snd, just finished shooting in the South of France and Japan. Snd handles French distribution and worldwide sales rights. The theatrical release is planned for 2023.

Kruger stars as Estelle, a brilliant airline captain who leads a seemingly perfect life with her husband Guillaume, a renowned doctor. When she accidentally bumps into Ana, a former flame, Estelle falls in love all over again. As their affair gets more intense, Estelle has recurring visions, nightmares and hallucinations, and when Ana disappears mysteriously, she starts losing grip on reality.

“Visions” marks Gozlan’s follow up to “Black Box” which was a major hit in France where it sold over 1.2 million admissions and traveled to 45 countries.

Disney+ has ordered “Tout va bien,” a new French original series which will be co-directed and co-produced by ‘The Bureau’ creator and showrunner Eric Rochant. The anticipated series will also be directed by Xavier Legrand (“Custody”), Cathy Verney (“Vernon Subutex”) and Audrey Estrougo (“Supremes”).

Slated to start shooting in Paris soon, “Tout va bien” is created by Camille de Castelnau, a rising talent whose screenwriting credits include episodes of “The Bureau,” “Call My Agent” and “Standing Up.”

“Tout va bien” will be headlined by Virginie Efira (pictured) who stars in Rebecca Zlotowski’s upcoming Venice competition title “Les enfants des autres,” and Nicole Garcia (“Lupin”), among others.

The series, which will launch on Disney+ around the world in 2023, revolves around an dysfunctional Parisian family confronted to the tragic illness of one their children.

The cast also includes Sara Giraudeau, Aliocha Schneider, Bernard Le Coq, Eduardo Noriega, Yannik Landrein, Mehdi Nebbou and Angèle Mièle.

Canal Plus’ longtime drama commissioner Fabrice de la Patellière has joined forces with Studiocanal to set up production banner 2e Bureau.

De la Patellière, who stepped down from his position at Canal Plus in January, will be producing premium series and mini-series for French and international channels and platforms.

During his 20-year tenure at Canal Plus, the well-respected executive played a key role in the making of some of France’s most iconic series, from cop shows such as “Spiral” and “Braquo,” as well as Eric Rochant’s spy series “The Bureau,” supernatural drama “The Returned” and several critically acclaimed English-language series including Tom Fontana’s “Borgia,” “Versailles” and “Django.” All these series, many of which won International Emmy awards, were developed by third-party producers who worked hand-in-hand with de la Patellière through Canal Plus’ Creation Originale label.

A subsidiary of Studiocanal, 2e Bureau will allow de La Patellière to...

Laïla Marrakchi talks Atlas Workshops strawberry picker drama ‘La Más Dulce’

Moroccan director Laïla Marrakchi broke out internationally in 2005 with debut feature and Cannes Un Certain Regard selection Marock, a Casablanca-set love story between a Jewish boy and Muslim girl, which she followed with the 2013 female-focused family drama Rock The Casbah.

The Paris-based, Casablanca- born director has not made a feature film in seven years, however, having become caught up in the high-end drama boom, taking directing credits on French language series Marseille, The Bureau, The Eddy and most recently L’Opera, set against France’s iconic Le Garnier Opera house.

While France has a deeply entrenched cinema tradition, drama series have been gaining tremendous ground within the country’s cultural landscape within the past few years, with some of the country’s biggest producers, stars and filmmakers venturing into ambitious television projects. The 3-month-old merger of UniFrance and TV France Intl., the country’s film and audiovisual promotion organizations, into a single entity is probably the best illustration of this blended world.

The growing presence of global streaming services, especially Netflix, in the TV space has played a key role in bolstering a talent drain, catapulting French stars, such as Omar Sy with the Gaumont-produced show “Lupin,” to international recognition. Although Sy broke through a decade ago with the smash hit French comedy “Intouchables,” “Lupin” allowed him to reach many more viewers around the world. Another example is Tahar Rahim, who became known around the world after starring in...

Slate includes Indecent exposure adaptation with The Bureau director Eric Rochant.

Eager to mine his back catalogue of IP, veteran US producer Ed Pressman is lining up local-language remakes of Bad Lieutenant, the crime drama he first made with Abel Ferrara nearly 30 years ago and subsequently remade with Werner Herzog.

Pressman, who joined son and Pressman Film VP of production Sam Pressman in Cannes this week to unveil the Evolver-Prologue VR collaboration with Terrence Malick, has lined up directors and local producing partners to adapt Bad Lieutenant in the UK, Germany, Italy, South Korea, and Argentina.

Scripts are being written...

Emmanuelle Bouilhaguet, a TV industry veteran who ran Lagardere Studios Distribution for a decade, has joined The Oligarchs Group (Tog), the banner behind Eric Rochant’s hit spy series “The Bureau,” as managing director.

The Paris-based company was founded in 2008 by French-American producer Alex Berger and Rochant, the French show runner and director. The outfit’s best-known credits is “The Bureau,” the Canal Plus original series which has been a commercial and critical hit at home and abroad, traveling to more than 110 territories around the world. A U.S. remake is currently being developed at Paramount.

In a newly-created role at Tog, Bouilhaguet will be in charge of driving and expanding the strategy and business opportunities of the company and its subsidiaries.

The seasoned executive will also oversee production, licensing, marketing and distribution of all contents and brands.

“For our next chapter of growth, the team and I couldn’t...

Newen Connect, the distribution branch of Newen, the Paris-based international production and distribution company owned by French’s biggest TV network, the TF1 Group, has boarded a bevy of upscale international drama series, including “Lost Luggage,” “Memento Mori,” Christian” and “Agent K.” The Paris-based company will help finance and sell internationally these shows.

“Since creating Newen Connect in October, we have ramped up our teams, hired Leona Connell [a former exec at Sky Vision and NBC Universal] as EVP of Newen Connect, and got a larger presence in the U.K. as well as Canada to increase our input in the English-language drama landscape, and beyond,” said Rodolphe Buet, a former senior executive at Studiocanal and chief distribution officer at Newen.

The recently-rebranded division, which comprises more than 20 executives located in Paris, London, Montreal, New York and Buenos Aires, is increasingly looking to team up ambitious third-party producers on premium drama projects at an early stage,...

The fourth series of Call My Agent will close the festival.

Dutch actresses Halina Reijn and Carice van Houten’s new drama Red Light and UK supernatural comedy horror tale Truth Seekers are among 10 upcoming series due to compete in the third edition of Canneseries which is taking place as a hybrid event from October 9 to 14.

The annual television festival was originally set to run last April alongside Miptv until the content market cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The festival was rescheduled for October to run alongside MIPCOM instead, which has since moved online due to ongoing health concerns around the virus.

Eric Rochant’s spy drama “Le Bureau,” the animated series “The Fox-Badger Family” and the documentary “Cinema through the Eye of Magnum” won France’s 16th Export Awards.

Hosted by the promotion organization TV France International, the Export Awards honors the French programs that have yielded the most sales abroad in the categories of animation, documentary and fiction. The awards were announced at the Rendez-Vous Biarritz, which kicked off virtually on Sept. 16.

“The Fox-Badger Family,” handled by Mediatoon Distribution, is a watercolor series aimed at preschool children, and based on Ève Tharlet and Brigitte Luciani’s book. The series revolves around Scoutbadger and Woodsy, young badger twins, who live with their father and their baby sister in in the woods. The series airs in France on the broadcaster France Télévisions and has sold around the world.

“Cinema through the Eye of Magnum” is represented by The Party Film Sales and was initially commissioned by Arte.

Top Productions, the Paris-based outfit behind international hit TV series “The Bureau” and “The Oligarchs,” is looking to expand into the Spanish-language scene, according to its executive producer and co-founder Alex Berger.

As befitting the executive producer of an intelligence show, the media entrepreneur gave his online keynote at Spain’s Conecta Fiction event from a top-secret location.

Berger was more forthcoming, however, on the subject of expanding into Spanish-language TV and is currently looking for partners in Latin America and Spain to work on a new Top scripted TV series in development “Dick” – which focuses on FBI offices outside the U.S.

He told fellow U.S.-born Europe-based TV executive Steven Bawol (co-creator of police drama “Section de Recherches”), who was moderating the keynote: “I’d like to find an interesting show – that could bring to Spain what we have brought to France. We have some ideas but...

If both your parents were famous and beguiling filmmakers, at some point you have to make a choice between turning your back on lineage to become a teacher or lawyer or something completely non-showbiz, or just embracing your genealogy and accepting the struggle to emerge from two very imposing shadows.

For Mathieu Demy there was never any doubt about which road he would take. He first appeared onscreen at age 5 in One Sings, the Other Doesn’t under the direction of his mother, Agnes Varda, and made his mark in his 20s as a man with AIDS in the musical Jeanne and the Perfect Guy. His father Jacques Demy had a way with musicals as well, having directed the immortal The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort, as well as Lola, Bay of Angels and Une Chambre en Ville.

Lately, Mathieu, who calls Los Angeles home but is currently working in Paris,...

Federation Entertainment has sold the fifth season of Eric Rochant’s hit espionage thriller series “The Bureau” to Germany’s Joyn Plus, the streaming service of ProSieben group.

Federation also scored deals with Joint Entertainment (Taiwan), Rtbf (Belgium), Sbs (Australia), Yle (Finland), Mtva (Hungary) and Lnk (Lithuania). Previous sales for Season 5 were closed with Sundance, Rialto (New Zealand), Svt (Sweden) and Nrk (Norway).

Federation, which took part in Series Mania’s and MipTV’s digital markets, is now in talks with buyers in Spain, Italy, Russia, Poland, and Denmark to ink further deals. “The Bureau” was commissioned by Canal Plus under its Creation Originale label and the fifth season premiered on the French pay TV group on April 6. “The Bureau” has become one of the most critically acclaimed international drama series in the last decade and has so far sold to more than 112 territories, according to Federation.

Federation said that...

One of the major buzz titles over the last seven days’ Series Mania/MipTV virtual marketplace, “No Man’s Land” starts in Paris, as Antoine, a construction engineer corroded by guilt at his sister’s death in a terrorist attack, thinks he glimpses her in TV footage of the Kurdish Ypg militia.

Minutes later in series terms, he has made it over the border from Turkey into Syria and into an extraordinary, if highly grounded true-facts-based, world where the Ypg has since 2013 fought Isis yihadists.

The geographical coordinates of Syria are hazy – the series uses no location credits; its landscape is other worldly; its gender are reversed – it’s the women who bear arms given the Islamic belief that a man killed by a woman will have a hard time getting to heaven; and its stakes humble Antoine as the Ypg wage a war for freedom, which Western powers yet prefer to ignore.

Paris — Since its 2015 debut, Canal Plus’ prestige drama “The Bureau” has become the pay-tv service’s flagship series, winning critical acclaim and a loyal fan base at home, and selling briskly to over 95 territories abroad.

At the head is Eric Rochant, who co-created the workplace espionage thriller with his Top The Oligarchs Production partner Alex Berger. When putting the series together, Rochant and Berger imported a U.S. production model – placing Rochant at the head of a streamlined infrastructure that could reliably source a ten-episode season per year while keeping a unified voice.

The bet paid off – delivering the cable broadcaster a hot ticket title that the New York Times recently named third best international series of the past decade, while also clearing the way for other showrunners in the French industry.

Though he’ll stay on as executive producer, Rochant will hand over showrunning duties following the series’ fifth season,...

Competition titles include UK’s Trying, Norway’s Atlantic Crossing and Israel’s Losing Alice.

Disney’s Star Wars-spin-off The Mandalorian will open the third edition of Canneseries, running March 27 to April 1 alongside the Miptv content market, as the event unveiled its full line-up today (February 26).

The series’ big-screen splash in Cannes’s Palais des Festivals will coincide with the launch of the new Disney+ streaming service in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland on March 24.

One of the most high-profile original series commissioned for the new platform, The Mandalorian is expected to be a...

Paris — AMC’s “The Walking Dead: World Beyond,” Amazon Prime’s “Upload,” and Apple TV’s “Trying” will make their international premieres at the 3rd edition of Canneseries, which will run from March 27 to April 1.

The Riviera-set fest will host tributes to David Hasselhoff (“Baywatch”), “Sharp Object” and “Euphoria” breakout Sydney Sweeney, and “Transparent” star Judith Light, before closing with the world premiere of “The Bureau,” Season 5.

Producer Gale Anne Hurd will lead this year’s jury alongside actors Ncuti Gatwa (“Sex Education”), Camille Cottin (“Call My Agent”) and Katja Herbers (“Westworld”), director Tawfik Abu Wael (“Our Boys”) and rocker Steward Copeland.

Pay-tv service Canal Plus will bring two high-profile French language offerings, launching the final season premiere of their spy thriller “The Bureau” and the series premiere of their hip-hop drama “Validé,” which was co-created by popular local star Franck Gastambide.

Of then ten series in the festival’s highly selective competition,...

Reciprocating an exchange which saw Series Mania 2019 Co-Pro Pitching winner “Capturing Big Mouth” participate at this year’s Berlin CoPro Series, German project “Transitniki” will make the return trip to Lille next month, having been selected by Series Mania representatives in Berlin.

From Germany’s Rohfilm Factory, “Transitniki” is set in 1985, behind the Iron Curtain, and tracks groups of thrill-seeking young East Germans, feeling trapped in their own country, who find a way to enter the Soviet Union illegally using transit visas. There, they are able to satiate their desires for travel and adventure in Russia’s untamed wilds.

The series is written by an experienced trio of TV screenwriters in Heide Schwochow, Constantin Lieb and Christian Mackrodt. There is no one creator, no showrunner and no head writer. In fact, when producer Karsten Stöter was putting his writers’ room together, some told him his democratic methodology for screenwriting would never work.

In this week’s International TV Newswire, Netflix goes back to the Flx well in Sweden, “The Bureau” is selected to close Canneseries, BBC4 picks up two new series for its Saturday night lineup, Endemol Shine announces a “Love is Forever” spinoff in Spain, and Conecta Fiction earns the honor of selecting this year’s International Emmy Short-Form semi-finalists.

Netflix Commissions Third Swedish Original, “Love & Anarchy”

Created by Swedish screenwriter Lisa Langseth, “Love & Anarchy” has been announced as Netflix’s third Original Series from Sweden. Production company Flx will produce, marking the renewal of a partnership with Netflix which began when the company produced the platform’s first Swedish Original, “Quicksand.” “Love & Anarchy” follows Sofie, played by “A Man Called Ove’s” Ida Engvoll, a career driven consultant and mother of two assigned to modernize an outdated publishing house. Upon her arrival, a flirty relationship kicks off with young It tech Max,...