France - TV SHOWS & MOVIES

[Michael]

A great French show that was is a bit of an odd an spooky one is called, "Les Revenants" (The Returned). I believe that American recreated their own version of this show. There is a version with French subtitles out there. It was quite a nice surprise. After a bit of a hiatus a second season ran of the show in the fall of 2015. I didn't see this follow up season.

 

[PatrickLondon]

I rather lost interest in the second series of Les Revenants, partly because I'd forgotten who was who and how they all interacted, mainly because I think I've had enough of the fashionable trope of gloomy series filmed in grey/green murk.

A series I mean to have a look at that others speak well of is Les Carnets de Julie, which is a combination travelogue and cookery programme in various different regions of France. There are a number of episodes on Youtube, it seems.

 

[Jim Zurer]

Just finished Spin....really enjoyed it. Looking forward to Season 2. (BTW, I thought Deutschland 83 was quite good but Fortitude is very weird--the first six episodes were fairly compelling but now it seems to have gone off the rails...but I will have to finish watching to see how it all comes out.)

 

[Pauline]

We gave up on Deutschland but maybe should continue with it. I like Fortitude, but it did get odd at the end.

 

[jonathan]

Deutschland got better: well worth it. Going to leave Spin 2 for a bit, but have just started Trapped: excellent.

 

[phirhon]

Thanks, Patrick, for the info about Les Carnets de Julie . We have watched a few since and enjoyed them. They are in French so we do not understand much. But we have enjoyed seeing some areas we are going to visit later this year as well as the food. We have already found an area in one region that we had not discovered in our research. It is lovely to see some French countryside. It has been two years!!

 

[Roz]

We just watched the first episode of Marseille, being shown on Netflix. It's been called a sort of French House of Cards. I believe it's the first original Netflix production in France, and in French (with subtitles of course). I liked it; Depardieu is excellent as the mayor and the photography is outstanding. Apparently it's gotten a better reaction outside France than within. Here's an article from the Guardian.

 

[Cameron]

Netflix's Chef's Table France is now online. Fun to watch.

 

[Roz]

We just watched the French series The Disappearance on Acorn TV and thought it was excellent. It's set in Lyons beginning on the night of La Fete de la Musique, and is about a girl who goes missing and what it does to her family. Here's an article about it: Must-Watch French TV Drama Arrives in US.

For anyone in the US who doesn't have Acorn TV, you might want to give it a try. We find more on that service that we want to watch than any other we subscribe to, and at $50 a year, I think it's pretty reasonable. It has a lot of shows from Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand that I don't think you can get anywhere else in the US, plus some from other European countries as well. You can get a free month's trial on their website: https://acorn.tv/

 

[Cameron]

There are some interesting shows listed. Is it possible to watch Acorn TV on a computer while traveling to Europe? I can't watch my Netflix when in France.

 

[Roz]

Good question, Cameron. I don't know, but Acorn is pretty good about responding to questions by email. I'll see what I can find out -- although I rather doubt it, since I think their shows are only licensed for the US.

P.S. I just found the answer on their website: "Acorn TV is available within the United States (and its territories) and Canada. We do not have the rights to these programs outside of those territories." I don't think any of the streaming services let you watch in other countries.

 

[Pauline]

There are some interesting shows listed. Is it possible to watch Acorn TV on a computer while traveling to Europe? I can't watch my Netflix when in France.

We are in Switzerland and the TV here connects to Netflix. We were able to login to our UK account. You may be able to use Netflix in France if your rental has an internet connected TV or if you bring your computer (we usually hook the computer up to the TV).

 

[Pauline]

Good question, Cameron. I don't know, but Acorn is pretty good about responding to questions by email. I'll see what I can find out -- although I rather doubt it, since I think their shows are only licensed for the US.

P.S. I just found the answer on their website: "Acorn TV is available within the United States (and its territories) and Canada. We do not have the rights to these programs outside of those territories." I don't think any of the streaming services let you watch in other countries.

You could watch it from Europe using a VPN on your computer which makes it look like you are in the US.

But I think a US Netflix account works in many countries.

 

[Roz]

I don't think it's likely that the US Netflix would work without a VPN. Here's an article that says you can't stream your US Netflix overseas unless you use a VPN -- and also that there's nothing illegal about the VPN. I also read that there may soon be a roaming deal that would let EU members watch Netflix in any EU country: EU Netflix roaming deal. But presumably Brexit would negate that for the UK.