As 2024 draws to a close, it’s time to take stock of the series’ fans. And like every year, French television and streaming platforms once again set the bar very high, offering us little original fragments that brought us to tears, that made us question time travel. Today we invite you to discover the audience’s favorite French film that left a rating on AlloCiné*.
And to everyone’s surprise, the short format Samuel, written, directed and performed by Émilie Tronche, takes first place in the ranking.
With an average audience rating of 4.4 stars out of 5 for a total of 381 notes and 23 reviews, this fiction available on the arte.tv platform was a surprise success this year with over 33 million views in 2024, all platforms combined, last. May.
Return to childhood with Samuel
Emily Tronche created the character of Samuel from her own experience, a small 10-year-old boy who finds himself in a big problem: his friend Basil told Big Julie that he loved Samuel.
But this is wrong. Well, not really… Yes, Samuel loves Julie, but no one wants to know, not even Corentin, his best friend. Especially not Dimitri, whom Samuel hates and whom all the girls are in love with, because he runs very fast, has good grades and a subtle sense of humor.
Nor Berenice, whom the whole class calls “crazy” because she is angry and sometimes aggressive. And neither the teacher, nor his parents, nor the whole world.
On AlloCiné, Samuel was the unanimous top-rated series of 2024 ahead of Penguin, Ripley, Shogun and Fallout.
Netizens highlighted “A very charming world full of nostalgia“, while others praised her “Amazing writing“. One netizen did not hesitate to describe the series as “A pure masterpiece“.
“A word is not superfluous when we find such a perfect harmony between the story, its characters, its graphic restoration, its music, its timing and its voice in such a rare tone,“- he added. For the most curious, who may have missed this phenomenon, 21 episodes of the first season are available in full and for free on the arte.tv platform.
What are 4 other French TV series favourites?
Samuel is not the only Arte series to be at the top of the French series in 2024. The short format “The Who Blush”, directed, co-written and performed by Julien Gaspard-Oliver, is actually on the second step of the podium. Average viewer rating 4.2 stars out of 5 (4.16 according to the analytics tool used for this top).
This series, still available on arte.tv, follows about ten high school students studying theater who see the arrival of a substitute teacher for a month. When they announce Shakespeare keeping their distance, the teacher stops the rehearsal. In the midst of an age when we often march forward with masks on, our gazes too high or heads too low, the issue of intimacy looms large.
In the third position of the top 5 French series desired by the viewers in 2024 we find Culte Matthieu Rumani and Nicolas Slomka with an average rating of 4.2 (4.15 exactly according to our analysis tool).
Directed by Marie Collomb, Anaide Rosam, César Domboi and Sami Outalbal, this mini-series, available on Prime Video since last October, takes us behind the scenes of the making of Loft Story.
Behind the one-way mirrors at the top of the show, a group of young producers are willing to do anything to find a place in the big leagues. They are not 35 years old and they have to come up with everything together. But the show quickly turns into a social scandal and shakes all the convictions of these reality TV pioneers.
The fourth place in this rating is taken by the series created by Doria Tillier, Iris. With an average rating of 4.15 stars, this strange creation of Canal+ managed to capture the hearts of viewers who passionately followed the story of Iris, a woman like no one else, who says loudly what people think quietly, for 6 episodes.
Finally, the fifth best-rated French series by AlloCiné viewers is none other than Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, with an average of 4 stars. Available on Disney+, the series, created by Isaac Pisani-Ferri and Jennifer Heave, is set in 1972 and follows the beginnings of a famous fashion designer, played for the occasion by Daniel Bruhl.
* The rating ended on December 2, 2024 and was determined using an internal analytical tool based on the ratings of French productions released in cinemas in 2024 and having a minimum audience rating of 100.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
