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 chance to change the world but opted for the Home Shopping Network instead.”
A major bestseller in France, the acclaimed text provoked near immediate film and TV interest upon its release in 2021. Habanita (Federation) will produce.
Also announced, the four-part doc series “Lambert v. Lambert” will follow the years long legal battle between the wife of man in a persistent vegetative state and his parents and siblings, who used the courts to block any medically assisted end-of-life. Julie Perris of Zadig Productions will spearhead, with Elodie Buzuel and Vincent Trisolini directing.
At a Wednesday presentation held as part of Series Mania Forum, execs from Disney+ also previewed first-look images of Daniel Bruhl in costume as Karl Lagerfeld taken from the set of “Kaiser Karl,” and offered detailed behind the scenes looks at upcoming French originals “Irreversible” and “Tout va Bien.”
Created by “The Bureau” screenwriter Camille de Castelnau, and with a starry cast led by Virginie Efira, the family dramedy “Tout va Bien” follows three generations of a Parisian clan whose lives are thrown into a tailspin when the youngest child falls ill. Maui Entertainment, Federation, and de Castelnau’s Petit Ermitage Production will produce, with “The Bureau” showrunner Eric Rochant helming the first two episodes.
Led by “In Treatment” writer Clémence-Madeleine Perdrillat, the rom-com “Irresistible” (pictured above) tracks the romantic upheavals of a Parisian podcaster, played by popstar and actor Camélia Jordana, who falls head-over-heels for Prince Charming. The only issue: He’s already married, and she’s not over her ex. Referring to lead’s affliction as ‘love-based PTSD’, Perdrillat described the project as “the story of how you can love again while still stuck in the past.” Antony Cordier and Laure de Butler will direct, with Gaumont subsidiary Jour Premier producing.
