Un Village français. A French auteur(s) series on a public network

Abstract

This article is a case study of the French TV series Un Village français, broadcast on France 3 from 2009 to 2017. Based on interviews and observations of the cast and crew members, it attempts to unravel the relationships between writers, producers, directors and broadcasters within the French television industry. First, some particularities of television production in France are briefly addressed. These include: the limited number of channels commissioning original TV series; the still unestablished concept and professional practice of showrunners and the lack of an industrialized process in creating televised serial narratives; and the dominant status of directors, which contributes to the weakened position of TV writers within this economy. The focus of the article is then the pre-broadcast history of the series, from the early stages of its conception to the later stages of its production. Un Village français is indeed created by an a-typical trio of executive co-producers: a producer (Emmanuel Daucé), a writer (Frédéric Krivine) and a director (Philippe Triboit), championed by a non-executive head producer (Jean-François Boyer). Eventually winning over reluctant channel executives, their stubbornness and ambition was rewarded by prime-time airings on a public channel of what is now widely regarded like a show bearing the marks of authorship. The aim is to understand the creative and economic processes at stake, and their impact on the narrative.