The New York Times praises French TV shows

Often criticized by the French themselves, TV shows from France have yet to receive much praise from the states. the New York Times changed that this week.

The American newspaper highlights four TV shows: Engrenages (renamed Spiral here in the US and available on Netflix), Un Village français, Maison close et Les revenants. The New York Times plays the game of comparisons with American series. Engrenages would be the equivalent of Law & Order, but in the writings of Stendhal. Un Village français would be closer to Band of Brothers and Foyle's War. The fascinating TV show Les revenants is compared to The Walking Dead, with the only difference being that zombies are craving ratatouille rather than human flesh. Finally, Maison close would be the equivalent of Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

The New York Times points out that the French network have for too long neglected production of Television, putting their money instead on feature films. A strategy that explains why so little French shows are exported abroad. This situation is changing, thanks to VOD sites like Netflix or Hulu, and the growing willingness of Canal +, France Télévisions and TF1 to produce TV shows that can be enjoyed by a foreign audience.

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