'Alice,' 'Swapped,' 'The Red and the Black': Three high-end period dramas blending modernity and French historical/literary heritage head to Unifrance Rendez-vous, all featuring local talents with universal stories, backed by major players in the French TV industry. It’s been almost 240 years since France started its very first Revolution. But fear not, French TV producers still have what it takes to bring yet another one to modern fiction, blending hints of past, present, and future.
From Toronto-bound “Alice” recently boarded by SND to France Télévisions genre-bending thriller “Swapped” and Wild Bunch‘s latest adaptation of Stendhal’s classic “The Red and the Black,” premium Gallic period dramas are spearheading this year’s slate at the Unifrance Rendez-vous, set in the Normandy coastal town setting of Le Havre. France TV Distribution (FTD), who sold the 2024 limited series “The Huguenots” to 29 territories (including a major partnership with HBO Max in France and Belgium) and brought “George: Untamed Spirit” to Mipcom the same year, is at the heart of this rising tide. In an increasingly competitive distribution market, these qualities make historical fiction particularly attractive to producers and broadcasters.” Matching this renewed interest, Schulte and her FTD teams bring “Swapped” to Le Havre.
A gripping six-part limited series set in 1890s Paris, the show centers on Rose (Lula Cotton-Frapier), who leaves her rural home to become a wet nurse for a bourgeois family, hoping to give her own baby a better future. Ahead of the Rendez-vous, SND picked up world sales of the six-part French-Canadian-Belgian production, and brings it to Le Havre along with the modern, military murder mystery and Series Mania winning show “R91.” “Both series, while having almost nothing in common, share the most important thing in contemporary TV,” explains Alexis Reybet Degat, SND Head of TV Series & Library Distribution. Two premium dramas, ambitious yet accessible to global audiences.” Wild Bunch, which produced “Alice,” also brings “The Red and the Black” to Unifrance Rendez-vous.
A retelling of Stendhal’s classic, the series is part of the event’s highlights, and Bartha praises its modern edge. They are reinventing established format aesthetics, taking creative risks, pushing boundaries and blending modern issues with French authenticity, all the while achieving real international success.” With the right creative approach and formula, Bartha adds, these series can feel highly contemporary, sophisticated and relevant to today’s audiences. If a high production value is mandatory to stand out in this very competitive landscape, all agree that French dramas also benefit from lower production costs.
But beyond the postcard looks, Reybet Degat warns: “French heritage travels only if it is supported by a true, universal narrative. It’s the struggle of a woman who fights to be considered equal. Heritage is the background.
What we sell is what happens in it. For what makes a show stand out in this ever-so-crowded landscape is its production value, the finesse of its narrative, a unique story, and memorable characters. For all three executives, these troubled times are filled with opportunities, if one knows where to look.
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