Cat’s Eyes on TF1: Here It All Begins and Balthazar in the cast of the series

In April of last year, TF1 announced that it would be getting the rights to adapt the 80s manga and cult cartoon Signed Cat’s Eyes. Adapted from Tsukasa Hojo’s manga, the animated series follows three sisters, Celia, Tam, and Alex, restorers who turn into thieves in the dead of night to retrieve art pieces from their father’s collection that have mysteriously disappeared.

On their heels was Inspector Quentin Chappuis, who was none other than Tami’s boyfriend. Almost 40 years after the series ended, Cat’s Eyes is gearing up for its big return to the small screen.

An ambitious project

Produced by Big Band Story (Benjamin Dupont-Jouben and Mehdi Sabari), the series is produced in partnership with Prime Video, as was the case for Les Combattantes and Le Bazar de la Charité, which was released on Netflix. Thus, the series will be offered first on air on TF1 before going online a few months later on the streaming platform.

This will allow Cat’s Eyes to travel internationally. “I always thought that with international platforms we could find a modus vivendi“, Deputy Managing Director of Group Content, Ara Afrikian, told our colleagues Western France.

“We are in discussions with most of them to help them benefit from TF1’s know-how to produce content with high added value for the French public. They offer it in exchange for global exposure. It is up to us to find natural ways to cooperate with them.”

Written by Michel Katz, Justin Kim-Gauthier, Antonin Martin-Hilbert, Anne-Charlotte Cassab, Colin Dussault and Audrey Gagneau, the 8-episode 52-minute series, directed by Alexandre Laurent (Les Combattantes, Le Bazar de la Charité), is a true financial gamble. For titles, as explained by the Deputy Managing Director.

“It will undoubtedly be one of the most expensive TV series we will produce next year with an extremely large production budget. But you should be able to do justice to this franchise which is very prestigious.”

This new version of Cat’s Eyes is set in 2023 and follows Alexia, Tam and Celia, three sisters who reunite after years of separation. At the same time, a work belonging to their father, who disappeared ten years ago in a mysterious fire at his art gallery, reappears during a prestigious exhibition at the Eiffel Tower.

They then decide to take all the risks to recover it in hopes of finding out what happened. However, the trio very quickly find themselves with Quentin Chappuis, the captain of the BRB, in charge of arresting these new thieves, who continue to elude him. But he doesn’t know that between them lies his lifelong love, Tam…

TF1 stars in the cast

If until now TF1 has not yet communicated about the casting of this new series, Aram Aprikian finally revealed in this interview the identity of the three actors who will be in the lead.

Alexia, one of the three sisters, will be played by TF1 regular Camille Lou, as the actress was recently cast in Season 3 of The Promise, Prometheus and The Fighters. Next to him we can find Constance Labe, who answered Tomer Sisley’s Balthazar in the last two seasons.

Finally, Claire Romain, aka Amber Here It All Begins, will probably have to step into her younger sibling’s shoes. At this time, the chain has not yet announced the identity of the actor who will portray Quentin Chappuis. The filming of Cat’s Eyes should begin very soon For graduation in 2024.