Prime-Video - Acceleration of investments in French production

By Mulder, 22 march 2021

Today at its Prime Video Presents France 2021 event in Paris, Amazon Prime Video announced the greenlighting of four new Amazon Original French productions, the addition of Niels Schneider, José Garcia, Lambert Wilson and Ana Girardot to the cast of Totems, several new acquisitions such as the latest shows from Maxime Gasteuil and Gaspard Proust, as well as a slew of tennis stars to commentate on the upcoming French Open broadcast. With the announcement of new titles like Flashback, Greek Salad, Miskina, Celebrity Hunted, Amazon Prime Video marks another step in its plan to accelerate its investment in French production, with more announcements to come.

"We are especially committed to investing time, energy and financial resources to bring high-quality films and series to our customers in France. " said Georgia Brown, creative director of Amazon Originals Prime Video Europe for Amazon Studios. "We believe that showcasing the best stories from the most gifted creative talent will delight not only our French viewers, but also our Prime members around the world. We have many other exciting projects in development with very talented French producers, writers, directors and actors. With today's announcements, we've taken another step in our commitment to bring the most incredible French series and films to Prime members and these projects are a testament to our commitment to investing in French production."

"We know that French viewers want to discover singular, authentic and entertaining stories that they can relate to, and we are committed to producing the widest variety of quality programs available exclusively to our Prime members that fulfill these goals," said Thomas Dubois Director of Amazon Originals France Creations for Prime Video. "Drama, spy thrillers, comedy, new formats, music, the role of women in society - there's not a single genre or theme we're ruling out, and we're very pleased to announce these four new Amazon Originals productions, which demonstrate our dedication to offering the most diverse programming possible. "

During the presentation, Thomas Dubois, Amazon Originals Creative Director for Amazon Studios, announced:

Greenlight for Flashback, the second Amazon Original feature film produced in France. This irresistible and witty comedy will trace the history of women's rights, and features comedian Caroline Vigneaux as well as Sophia Aram, Suzanne Clément, Lison Daniel, Issa Doumbia, Gad Elmaleh, Lannick Gautry, Emy Ltr, Florent Peyre and Sylvie Testud. Produced by Alain Goldman for Légende Films, Flashback will air exclusively on Prime Video in France and in more than 240 countries and territories in 2021.

Greenlight of a new Amazon Original French comedy series, Miskina. Miskina paints a funny and intimate portrait of a young woman today trying to find meaning in her life, while questioning her relationship to faith, love, work and family. Created and written by Melha Bedia, Xavier Lacaille (Validated), and Yoann Gromb (Twenty-Five) and produced by Margaux Marciano and Nicolas Duval Adassovsky for Quad, the eight-episode series will air exclusively on Prime Video in France and in more than 240 countries and territories in 2022.

Greenlight of the Amazon Original Greek Salad series. Contemporary drama that follows the popular trilogy of L'Auberge espagnole, created by Cédric Klapisch, along with his team, Lola Doillon and Antoine Garceau (Ten Percent). Twenty years after L'Auberge Espagnole, Salade Grecque follows Tom and Mia (the children of Wendy and Xavier, characters from L'Auberge Espagnole) who go on a new adventure in Athens. The series is co-produced by Bruno Lévy for Ce qui meut and will air exclusively on Prime Video in France and in more than 240 countries and territories starting in 2022.

Launch of a new adventure show, Celebrity Hunted - Chasse à l'Homme. This new Amazon Original adventure format, already successful in Italy, brings together several celebrities trying to escape a team of expert hunters. This new program will bring together Laure and Florent Manaudou, Franck Gastambide and Ramzy Bedia, Dadju and Darcy, Squeezie and Seb La Frite. Celebrity Hunted - Chasse à l'homme is produced by EndemolShine France and will be broadcast exclusively on Prime Video in France from 2021.

The first names of the cast of the new French spy series Totems (formerly Operations Totems) have been revealed, with Niels Schneider, Vera Kolesnikova, José Garcia, Lambert Wilson and Ana Girardot confirmed as cast members. Set in 1965, at the height of the Cold War, Totems follows the story of Francis Mareuil, a French scientist, who is about to become a spy. While working for the French secret service and the CIA, he meets Lyudmila Goloubeva, a pianist forced to collaborate with the KGB. Produced by Gaumont, Totems will be released exclusively on Prime Video in 2021 in over 240 countries and territories.

Pitch announcement and first footage of the French documentary Amazon Original Orelsan, which chronicles the rise of Orelsan, one of the most famous and iconic French rappers of his generation. Tracing his entire career, this original production will tell the story of the man who has filled France's biggest concert halls and will reveal the behind-the-scenes story of his rise to fame for the very first time. Orelsan is produced by Nolita TV and Troisième Œil Productions (Mediawan Group) and will be broadcast exclusively on Prime Video in France starting in 2021.

Isabelle Bertrand, director of acquisitions France for Prime Video, also announced the launch of several acquisitions soon to be available on the service such as:
- The latest shows by Maxime Gasteuil, Mathieu Madénian and Gaspard Proust, which will be broadcast exclusively on Prime Video in France in Q3 2021
- The highly anticipated documentary series Framing Britney Spears, which will air exclusively on Prime Video, starting April 5, 2021
- The arrival of Moi Christiane F. from April 9, 2021 exclusively on Prime Video in France
- The arrival of the sequel to its documentary series Ici, c'est Paris about Paris Saint-Germain in the third quarter of 2021

Alex Green, Prime Video Sport's Managing Director Europe, also revealed the names of the prestigious talents who will accompany this year's Roland Garros broadcast:

- Amélie Mauresmo, Marion Bartoli, Patrice Moratoglou, Fabrice Santoro, Arnaud Clément, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Pauline Parmentier, Antoine Benneteau and Benoît Daniel will be part of the consultant teams
- Thibault Le Rol and Clémentine Sarlat will be the presenters
- Frédéric Verdier and Sara Pitkowski will be part of the commentary team
- Other names will be revealed closer to the tournament, which is expected to take place during the second half of May 2021.

Amazon Prime Video also featured during the event panels with:
- Le Bal des Folles - Mélanie Laurent, director and performer
- Miskina - Melha Bedia, lead actress and co-creator
- Greek Salad - Cédric Klapisch, creator of the series
- Roland-Garros & Live Sports focus - Guy Forget, director of the Roland-Garros tournament and Amélie Mauresmo, former WTA world number one and winner of two Grand Slam tournaments

(Source: press release)