Copyright Mandarin Television
Watching French series can be an enjoyable relaxing time.
Getting input (listening) from series is a good way to refine your pronunciation and accent, as well as using a variety of voices for your input.
See my guide to learning French through series and why you want to watch French series and films.
The best series are from French cable channel Canal+ (similar to American HBO), and French-German free channel Arte (focused on culture and high quality content).
1. Platane
Copyright Canal+
Un platane is a very common tree to find on French roads (routes nationales, especially).
When having a car accident, you’ll most likely « se payer un platane », informal for « gonna hit a plane tree ».
Eric Judor is a big fan of American series like Curb Your Enthusiasm, the Larry Sanders Show and Arrested Development.
He plays himself as an insufferably arrogant actor who, after crashing into a tree, realizes that being a comedy actor is for losers.
A loser he won’t be any more.
He undertakes to channel his inner creative revenge into a serious drama film: a nonsensical remake of Edith Piaf’s ‘La Vie en Rose’ film (La Môme – The Kiddo).
A hilarious series about how karma always seems to get it right, featuring actual French movie stars, and the no less hilarious friend ‘Flex’.
2. Au service de la France
You may have heard about the Bureau des Légendes, a series about the French secret services.
Let me take you back to the 60s instead, with a bunch of clumsy agents in a very realistic version of France during the Général de Gaulle years.
The series follows agent-to-be André Merlaux, seeking for his identity while on missions in Algiers, Berlin or Moscow.
If you like the OSS 117 series, you’ll love this comedy.
It’s got the Cold War, African countries freeing themselves from France, and the usual internal affairs shenanigans.
Accurate history and that 60s glamourous look. Yep. Arte’s got it right.
3. En thérapie
Originally from Israel, the series became popular in the USA under the title In Treatment.
As a TV channel meant for all the intellectuals out there, Arte had to adapt this popular format in dozens of countries around the world.
The camera feels almost intrusive in this modern version of psychotherapy. Philippe Dayan, a talented analyst, welcomes distressed patients and has a knack for finding out what’s wrong.
Little do his patients know that Philippe is a very confused and disoriented man himself.
What’s so French about it then?
The drama series centers around the 2015 Paris attacks, and how Parisians sought to deal with their traumas, as well as their personal struggles.
4. Dérapages
How violent can capitalism really be?
How does an unemployed man with the best intentions revolt against the system?
Dérapages is a gripping drama about how low you can go to keep your dignity, and the humiliation of not being able to find work in modern France.
The word dérapage comes from the verb déraper, to go adrift, to go off track – like you do with your car.
A good translation for the series would be ‘Off Limits’.
Brutal and fascinating.
For more on series, check out LINKS AND LINKS.
Share below if you have seen any of these series or what you think is the best series to learn French.
Comment on how series help you overcome your struggles with French listening.