Canal Plus takes a page from HBO

Channel defines, refines brand with original series

By ELSA KESLASSY

PARIS -- On Oct. 12, the crooked cops from "Braquo," a French twist on "The Shield," bowed with a bang during primetime on Canal Plus -- the show broke the channel's records for a French fictional program with a 20.9% share among cable, satellite and DTT auds.

Penned by cop-turned-filmmaker Olivier Marchal ("36 Quai des Orfevres"), the drama series underscores Canal Plus' ambition to bring a harder-boiled edge to Gaul's smallscreens.

"We're not a regular network. We have cultural objectives, and our subscribers buy into this," says Canal Plus chief operating officer Rodolphe Belmer.

Canal Plus started ramping up original programming in 2006 with dramas "La Commune," "Spiral," "Mafiosa" and politics-themed telepics such as "L'Ecole du pouvoir." The paybox is now turning to social issues with Emmanuelle Bercot's "My Dear Studies," about a student who sidelines as a prostitute.

"We use the fact that we're a pay TV service to have series that are not only entertaining but also question the status quo and take a closer look at French society," says Fabrice de la Patelliere, head of fiction at Canal Plus. "We don't have to be politically correct like the free-to-air-channels."

Canal Plus' next step, Belmer says, is to "produce spectacular French and European fiction of international scope," with one big-budget project every 18 months.

The Gallic group is now co-producing with U.S. companies. One project currently underway is Tom Fontana's $45 million series "The Borgias."

"It's pretty bleak in Hollywood right now," says Fontana. "There is a level of fear that's more palpable than I can ever remember. It's good to know that as Hollywood sails into the sunset, there are going to be places where writers can find a home to actually write these types of dramas."

The Paris-based powerhouse is also developing "The Oligarchs," a 13-part one-hour drama series penned by Eric Rochant, Pierre Leccia ("Mafiosa") and Alex Berger. American screenwriters and a U.S. channel could be attached to the series, currently repped by CAA.

"By bringing the best of American series to French TV, Canal Plus has educated French audiences with American storytelling and high production values," says Berger. "Today, it's attempting to bring its original series to the same level."

Over the last three or four years, Canal Plus has increased annual investment in series by about e35 million ($52.6 million), says Canal Plus prexy-CEO Bertrand Meheut.

The strategy is paying off. About one-third of customers subscribe because of programs other than soccer games or films, Belmer points out.

High-profile skeins in development include "Berlucci," a drama series co-penned and co-produced by Abdel Raouf Dafri ("Public Enemy Number One," "A Prophet") and produced by Emmanuel Dauce's Paris-based shingle Tetra Media.

Dauce said the one-hour series -- currently being written -- follows a French-Italian small-time street thug as he gains access to France's political elite.

Where Canal Plus treads, the French film industry follows. "For many years, we've been an important partner for French cinema," says Arielle Saracco, head of Canal Plus original programming. "Now we're able to bring in talented filmmakers and screenwriters who give another dimension to our drama series and TV films."