Everyone is getting on board the French-language content train. This week, Apple TV+ (which launched its streaming service app in November of 2019) announced that it will be producing its first French-language TV series, Liaison.
Liaison, which is a French-American collaboration, is a bilingual thriller starring Hollywood veteran French actors Vincent Cassel (Black Swan) and Eva Green (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children). According to the production companies, Ringside Studios and Leonis Productions, “Liaison is a high-stakes, contemporary thriller exploring how the mistakes of our past have the potential to destroy our future. The series combines action with an unpredictable, multi-layered plot in which espionage and political intrigue play out against a story of passionate and enduring love.”
The show will be written by Virginie Brac and directed by Emmy winner Stephen Hopkins. Other members of the cast include Peter Mullan (Ozark), Gerard Lanvin (The Taste of Others), Daniel Francis (Small Axe), Stanislas Merhar (The Black Book), Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (Call My Agent!, Emily in Paris), Laetitia Eido (Fauda), Eriq Ebouaney (Rogue City), Bukky Bukray (Rocks), and Thierry Fremont (Murder In Mind).
This comes at an interesting point in international film and television production, with global streaming services rushing to produce more “local” content following the success of shows like Netflix’s Call My Agent! and Lupin. It’s clear that Apple TV+, the newcomer to the already oversaturated streaming scene, is trying to make a name for itself by opening with a diverse slate of programming.
Other Apple TV+ original productions include the critically acclaimed queer period drama Dickinson and the Sofia Coppola comedy-drama On the Rocks. Much of the original planned Apple TV+ content was delayed due to COVID-19, though some production resumed in late 2020. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99/month, or free for a year with purchase of a new Apple device.
