French broadcaster M6 has greenlit a French-language adaptation of Turkish crime drama “Persona,” to be titled “Mémoire Vive.”
Instead of a male protagonist, as in the Turkish version, it will have a female main character, Esther Lefevre, to be played by Clementine Celarie, whose credits include “Six Women,” “Betty Blue” and “Two Is a Family.”
“Mémoire Vive,” which will comprise four hour-long episodes, is being produced by Calt Studio. It is written by Laurent Burtin (“Astrid: Murder in Paris”), Anne-Gaëlle Daval (“Ladies”) and Hélène Lombard (“Call My Agent!”). The series will be directed by Arnaud Malherbe (“Moloch,” “Chefs,” “Rictus”). Shooting is scheduled for the first half of 2024.
The original Turkish version, produced by Ay Yapim, is returning for a second season. Beta Film has sold the show across Europe and to the U.S., Canada and Japan. Germany’s Tagesspiegel described it as “entertaining, challenging, slick, and expressive.”
Haluk Bilginer won the International Emmy for his performance as “Persona’s” antihero Agâh in 2019.
In the second season, Agâh, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, regains his memories piece by piece when his daughter takes him into her care. And while Agâh is looking for a way to handle his new-found freedom, he doesn’t realize that he has made some powerful enemies who yearn for revenge.
Season 1 is produced for Turkey’s Puhu TV and Season 2 for Gain.