“Call My Agent!,” the hit comedy series whose second season recently pulled top ratings on France’s public broadcaster France Televisions and has traveled widely, won the export prize during the French Television Producer Awards gala ceremony organized by Procirep and TV France International.
Although “Call My Agent!” was picked up by Netflix for most markets, France Televisions Distribution, the commercial arm of the pubcaster, was able to successfully sell the show in remaining territories where it garnered strong ratings. The series chronicles the ups and downs of a tight-knit and dysfunctional team of Parisian talent agents.
“(Call My Agent!) represents perfectly the potential of the ‘French touch’ within the TV market. Our tailored distribution strategy, which entailed a global rollout on SVOD and local distribution in pay or free TV in remaining territories that weren’t part of the deal (with Netflix) allowed us to maximise the series’s commercial potential,” said Julia Schulte, SVP of international sales at France TV Distribution.
Produced by Mon Voisin Productions and Mother Production, “Call My Agent!” has been optioned for a Canadian and U.K. remakes.
Other export awards went to the animated slapstick comedy series “Grizzy & the Lemmings” which is produced by Hari International; and the maths-themed documentary “The Origami Code,” produced by Lucky You.
Sarah Hemar, the executive director of TV France International, said the export awards “underline the growing appeal of French audiovisual output, for which international sales have more than doubled in 10 years, reaching an all-time record of €205 million (up 8.5% on 2016).”
Lincoln TV, Christine de Bourbon Busset and Marc Missionnier’s Paris-based banner, received the best French producer award for fiction. The company was praised for nurturing emerging auteurs and encouraging diverse forms of writing. The company’s recent hit series include “Mental” (“HP”) which was ordered by OCS. “Mental” follows a twenty-something female intern in psychiatry who discovers the burlesque and tragic world of madness. Lincoln TV’s credits also include “Au-delà des murs” and “Ronde de nuit.”
The other prizes went to Les Films du Balibari (“Debouttes”) which was named best documentary production outfit; and Doncvoilà Productions (“La petite mort”) which was named best animation banner.
