We just learned that Money Heist was going to be entitled to its South Korean remake on Netflix. Generally, we like the works that come to us from South Korea, but here we wondered if it was really useful to transpose the Spanish series which was already nice (but far from being free from defects, that’s for sure) . Because very often, series remakes are not crazy crazy. Apart from a few pearls like The Office Where US Shamelesswe often end up with copies of the original in worse condition.
1. Mouche, the French remake of Fleabag
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If you haven’t seen the superb Fleabag series on Amazon Prime yet, we advise you to go for it. For those who have already passed this stage, we can tell you about Fly, the French remake with Camille Cottin. We can’t really say that the series is zero, but it brings absolutely nothing to the original. It’s really a pure product reserved for lazy people who don’t want to watch a series in VOST or dubbed in VF, and, suddenly, it’s useless. Fortunately, Camille Cottin still plays just as well in it, but that was already the case with Phoebe Waller-Bridge in flea bag. So, at the risk of repeating ourselves: IT IS NOTHING.
2. Malaterra, French remake of Broadchurch
Broadchurchit’s David Tennant and Olivia Colman who lead a very dark investigation in a superb English coastal setting alongside many other talented actors. Malaterra, it’s the same thing, but less well. And in Corsica. The sets are still quality, which saves the trick, but everything else is much flatter, with actors as believable as members of a high school drama club. Well, ok, we exaggerate, but really the comparison is not flattering with the English cast. Again, the original was sufficient, although Malaterra had the good sense to change a few points of the scenario for those who had already seen the first version.
3. Le Bureau, French remake of The Office (UK)
In the intro, we said that The Office US was a good remake of the English original. At the same time, it was Ricky Gervais himself who was responsible for transposing his creation across the Atlantic. Well Ricky Gervais, he can also screw up, since he did the same thing in France in 2006 and the result is much worse. In the role played by Ricky then Steve Carrel in the States, there we screwed up François Berléand, and as surprising as it may seem, it’s about the only thing that works. Everything else is atrociously badly played and even more caricatural than in the other versions, it’s to cry. In addition, we feel that this format is not at all made for the French public, and the proof is there: it totally sucked.
4. US Skins, American remake of Skins
Today we have Sex Education or Euphoria, but when we were younger, we had Skins, an English series with teenagers from Bristol who spent their time doing drugs, fucking and getting into shitty situations. And it was very good. Then the Americans wanted their version, and the creator of Skins laid them US Skins, a remake fairly faithful to the original with a few exceptions: it takes place in Baltimore, the characters are much smoother and Maxxie, the gay dancer, has been replaced by a girl. We feel that American puritanism has been there, and suddenly we lose a big part of the subversive side of the English series. What was the point of doing that? Well yes, the money. Necessarily.
5. The Returned, American remake of The Returned
Ghosts are among the strongest series that Canal has offered us. With its slow rhythm, its gloomy atmosphere, its oppressive landscapes and its brilliant soundtrack by Mogwaï, the program put us on our ass. When Netflix adapted it for US audiences, they made it a decent product, but one that had completely left behind the slowness of the original. Americans don’t like things to drag on, so they cut where it suits them, and that’s a shame all the same. And then without Mogwai, it’s much worse anyway.
6. Unsuspected, the French remake of The Fall
On the other side of the Channel, The Fall had great success. The pitch is quite classic, with an investigator sent to help the Belfast police solve an investigation into a series of murders, but it is well done and superbly carried by Gillian Anderson. In the French version, the actress who plays in Sex Education and The Crown is replaced by Emmanuelle Seigner, and, how can I tell you… it doesn’t do it at all. The atmosphere is rather well transcribed, but everything is copied/pasted on The Fallexcept that it plays less well and we’re as bored as a Sunday afternoon on France 3. Seriously, if you don’t believe us, try it and you’ll understand after not even one episode.
7. Coupling US, American remake of Coupling (UK)
the Coupling original, it is known in France under the title (naze) of Sexy Six. It’s a kind of Friends but in English and more trashy. It revolves a lot around the ass, but it’s still fine and served by well-crafted and deep characters. And above all, it’s funny, which the American version has completely forgotten. English finesse has gone by the wayside, and we end up with a very heavy gag that just makes you want to come back to Friends. And yet, Friends is overrated.
8. Skam France, the French remake of Skam
Come on, for a change, we’re going to a remake of the Norwegian series Skam. The pitch is identical in the two series: we follow the life of a group of young friends with seasons centered on different characters each time. But where we believed in the original, because the actors were just playing and the scriptwriters had understood the reality of high schools a little, it becomes totally false on the side of France. It seems that those who carried out the adaptation have never known real teenagers, and suddenly we do not believe it for a single second. It’s a shame because it really could have been done well if we had made an effort.
9. Homeland, the American remake of Hatufim
We’re not going to make friends by saying thatHomeland is worse than its Israeli model Hatufim, but it’s the truth. The original series is much more psychologically worked, it speaks better of the traumas of war and depicts more situations that give depth to the characters. In addition, in Hatufim there’s no Claire Danes who, we admit, got us pretty drunk. After Homeland it’s not bad, huh, but it’s still less good.
10. I promise you, the future French remake of This is us
We can already hear you shouting at us accusing us: “but you can’t say it’s going to suck when you’ve never seen it!” » Yes, it’s true… but no messing around, just the title of the remake is already all screwed up. And it looks more like a Kinder ad than a good series.