The Back to School series… is now available on Salto. Expected this autumn on TF1, Syndrome E, adapted from the novel of the same name by Franck Tilleys, is indeed fully offered on the French streaming platform in previews this Friday, July 22. A few weeks, even a few months, before it airs on TV.
Presented last March at Séries Mania, where the first two parts caused a sensation, this six-episode series follows the meeting between Charcot (Vincent Elbaz) and Lucy Hannebel (Jennifer Dekker), two of the flagship cops of successful novelist Frank Tillis.
All in a dark and disturbing world that, with big shocks of gruesome revelations, shocking sequences and characters damaged by life, is more reminiscent of the film version of Les Rivières pourpres and Scandinavian thrillers than the detective films of France 3. And it proves, if we still doubted, that a channel like TF1 can rhyme and boldly rhyme with the general public today.
The undisputed master of the French thriller, like Jean-Christophe Granger and Maxime Chatham, Franck Tillier has never had the honor of serializing one of his novels. Chamber of the Dead was recently brought to the big screen in 2007 with Melanie Laurent in the not-so-memorable Lucy Hannibal.
To bring Syndrome E to life – the first novel in a long series centered on the Charcot-Hennebel duo – TF1 and producer Sophie Reville (Les Petits Murders d’Agatha Christie, They were 10) turned to screenwriter Mathieu Misoff, who demonstrated his ability to create unexpected atmospheres and worlds that They are mistaken for a zone blanche nugget.
The plot of the series, which takes us from Paris to Canada via Morocco, sees Charcot, a gruff and lonely police officer who cannot mourn his daughter, embark on a complex investigation to find children who have mysteriously disappeared. Meanwhile, an old movie from the 1960s causes strange and dangerous behavior in those who watch it.
When Lucy Hannebel, a 35-year-old police officer and single mother, realizes that her past may be connected to Charcot’s investigation, she joins his team. They are ready to go with him to the edge of strangeness, from which they will definitely not return unscathed.
After Rebecca, Luther or Une si longue nuit, TF1 continues to move the cursor a little further from what we are used to on French television (apart from platforms) in terms of thrillers. And we ask for more.
Corpses with brains torn out, a heroine whose eyes begin to bleed, subconscious images hidden in an old amateur film à la Ring, leading to explosions of violence, a disturbing clinic or even experiments on kidnapped children… nothing is left for us and lovers. Glossy, sticky and bloody thrillers must be conquered.
Obviously, the set doesn’t shy away from certain more formulaic sequences, but E Syndrome is close enough to the horror, fantasy, and weirdness to thrill us and stand out from many French TV dramas.
Mathieu Missoff’s mastery of rhythm and suspense is complemented by Lor de Butler’s smooth and stunning direction. A young director who cut his teeth specifically on Profileng and who after The Promise confirms all the good things we think about him. And he proves once again that he has a real touch and a real sense of human drama, able to convey on the screen both the darkness of the investigation and the wounds and suffering of the souls of his characters.
A screenplay and formal features that would be nothing without the talented performers to bring Charcot and Hannabel to life. In his big return as the series’ hero seven years after No Limit went off the air, Vincent Elbaz is superb as this tortured cop haunted by the ghost of his daughter, ready to explode at any moment.
Jennifer Dekker, resident of the Comédie-Française facing Charcot’s ticking time bomb, is the true revelation of the series as Hannebel, who, faced with an extraordinary case, begins to raise questions about brain surgery. He passed as a teenager. Are you determined to save those who can still be saved – including yourself? – Before it’s too late and the madness doesn’t interfere.
A shocking duo that we hope will be adapted in other seasons from the next volumes of Tilleys and which brilliantly complements the performances of Kool Shen, Berenger Crieff, Sammy Seguir, Emmanuel Béart, very rarely on television, or again Dominique Blanc. A particularly soothing role.
Find now Syndrome E (6×52′) in its entirety on Salto, before it airs on TF1 later this year.
Source: allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
