French drama series Candice Renoir and HIP have found favor with Spanish and Latin American audiences. A few days before MIP Cancun, Nadia Chevallard, International Sales Director at Newen Connect, tells us about the respective careers of these two series and the work done to help them find their place in this market, which is still complicated for French fiction.
She also reveals Newen Connect's latest launches at MIPCOM.
Unifrance: Candice Renoir was first a huge success in Spain, before making its way to Latin America...
Nadia Chevallard: Latin America is still a complicated market for French fiction series. For us, the adventure began in 2017 with Candice Renoir. This was a long-term project. From Season 3 onwards, the series was bought by the Sony group in Spain for the AXN pay channel, which brings together numerous American franchises such as Chicago Fire and Castle. The programming director at the time, Carlos Herrán, was convinced that Candice Renoir had a legitimate place on the schedule alongside these American franchises. When we talked about the series, he told me he saw real potential for Spain. He wanted to try out something that had never been done before: daily programming from Monday to Thursday, namely four episodes a week, in a prime-time slot! I told Carlos that it was a great gamble and a strong signal of confidence in the series. Over and above the economic dimension, there was a strong commitment on their part to promotion and marketing. In fact, Sony's marketing teams spent two days on the set in Sète to prepare for the launch, and to meet the production team and the talent. When the series went on air, we had a moment of doubt. In the first week of broadcast, ratings didn't take off. Fortunately, Sony's teams kept to the schedule, and by the second week, audiences were already tuning in to the daily show. The series was a huge success in Spain!
This success in Spain has opened doors for you and gained the trust of Sony...
It was clear that the next step was Latin America, and Sony Latam seemed the most obvious partner in the region. I knew the teams, and we met regularly at markets such as NATPE in Miami and MIPCOM. They were starting to think about Candice Renoir, but they weren't quite ready yet. We benefited from the virtuous circle of a very solid collaboration in a European Hispanic-speaking territory, and from qualitative support work. The programming and acquisition teams in Latin America were able to draw on data and audiences produced by the Research & Marketing department in Spain.
At NATPE Miami, I met up with the teams again to see how we could operate. There are always cycles in this industry, and a "no" today may be a "yes" tomorrow. They liked the series, but the South American public is very heterogeneous, and we were a long way from the proposals of American series to which this public is accustomed. There's such a disparity of audiences, sensibilities, and cultures. We see this continent as a kind of block, but it's not.
The teams asked our permission to organize test screenings of the promo and two episodes. It's not always easy to get approval for test panel screenings. But at the time I knew that, without testing, the possibility of tweaking the series, in any case quickly, was compromised. I got my management's agreement, and a test screening was organized. The result was very positive! Two other American series, whose titles have remained confidential, were tested with Candice Renoir. And Candice Renoir came out on top in the qualitative feedback. From there, we signed a first partnership agreement with the AXN channel in 40 countries, including Brazil. The channel commissioned dubbed versions in neutral Spanish and another in Brazilian. And so the Candice Renoir adventure in Latin America began. Today, AXN is committed to all ten seasons, as well as the 90-minute specials produced for France 2.
The Latin American adventure soon continued with HPI…
Thanks to HPI, we had the opportunity to enter into a partnership with another pan-Latin American distribution player, namely the A&E group for Lifetime. I think the success of Candice Renoir was not lost on them. We'd already made a few contacts, but we lacked the right series, the right timing, to try and strike a first deal together. When HIP came along, they were immediately keen to partner us on the franchise. The series is doing very well, and they've committed to the first three seasons. These are two great successes in markets where it's quite difficult for French fiction to find partners and establish long-term successes.
What are your future ambitions in this market?
Today, we're entering a second stage, and a new challenge, which we're really enjoying. Pan-distribution is one thing, but now we're trying to see how far we can sell to linear networks. We've been working on this for a year and a half now, and haven't landed yet. But the next step is to find partners on linear channels or SVOD platforms, primarily in Mexico and Brazil, but also in Colombia, Argentina, and Chile. Whether it's for Candice Renoir, HPI, or our new TF1 procedural series launched at MIPCOM!
In addition to finding linear exposure for these series, we'd also like to rearm sales of limited series in Latin America. To do this, we're expecting a lot from the region's digital stakeholders and from what's happening in Europe in markets a little closer to home.
You announced a number of new titles at MIPCOM. What are the new procedural series you've just launched?
We launched Mercato (Law & Disorder) (8x52’), the latest production by Itinéraire Productions, the producers of HPI, for TF1. A fresh, hard-hitting action-comedy featuring an investigative duo at opposite ends of the spectrum: Nora, instinctive and impulsive, and Thomas, rigorous and empathetic, freshly arrived in Marseille from Paris. Mercato is the perfect combination of adrenalin, action, and humor. We presented the promo to the international market at MIPCOM, and the series is eagerly awaited.
We've also announced a superb series produced by Marysol (Newen France), Mademoiselle Holmes (6x52’), also for TF1. A nod to that great PI, Sherlock Holmes. The series follows the adventures of Charlie Holmes, played by Lola Dewaere. Sherlock Holmes's great-granddaughter, Charlie is shy and reserved at first, but gradually reveals her exceptional investigative skills.
We also presented Master Crimes (6x52’), a new UGC Fiction series for TF1: a bright, light-hearted, and funny procedural series following an eccentric, exasperating but absolutely brilliant professor of criminology at the Sorbonne. She has to work with a police captain whose character is the opposite of hers to solve mysterious and surprising murder cases in Paris, accompanied by a team of her best students.
Last but not least, Panda (6x52’), a series produced by Superprod Drama for TF1, starring Julien Doré. It tells the story of a cop, Victor Pandaloni, who has been out of the force for several years. A laid-back pacifist, matcha tea addict, and committed vegan, Panda runs a small beach bar in a remote corner of the Camargue. Until the day his old life comes knocking at his door. Panda is forced back into service, but according to his own rules: no weapons, no violence and no early starts! He forms an explosive duo with Lola, his female partner. It's the first time we've seen a cop solve a case in flip-flops!
Each of these series has a perfect balance between strong investigations, developed in each episode, and colorful characters who renew the genre and bring that touch of entertainment that we love and which corresponds well to the zeitgeist. We're in the feel-good procedural business. In the case of Mercato, the singularity of the series is that it's all action and adrenalin, and it's set in Marseille. It's scheduled for broadcast in 2024. Panda will be broadcast from November 30 on TF1, and Mademoiselle Holmes could be aired by the end of the year. We're delighted with this news, and that Newen Connect's slate is eagerly awaited by the international market.
Has your experience of the Latin American market enabled you to identify its main specificities? The main obstacles?
This market is used to glossy, feel-good content, particularly on SVOD platforms. Limited series productions, thrillers, and suspense, which are a little more intense, struggle to find their place. Amazon is perhaps the only series that's a little more masculine, with more of a thriller DNA. But local productions are also booming, and there are still a lot of American titles. In Europe, we've seen the end of the era of American series as prime-time leaders on the major channels. In Latin America, because of its geographical and cultural proximity to the USA, we still have a little further to go. We'll see what changes are in store for us, especially those linked to digital players.
Some Latin American countries come to MIPCOM, but not all. This market demands investment, not just once, but over the long term. We go every year, targeting one or two markets a year. We want to build a solid relationship, sowing seeds for which we'll see a return on investment at some point. To do that, we have to invest in travel, in going to the markets.
Ismael Ramiro, who's part of the international team, manages Latam, and for the past two years he's been traveling to MIP Cancun and Content Americas. I also accompany him on dedicated trips, separate from markets, at least once a year to Miami, to maintain connections and see all the pan-distribution channels. This work is essential. You have to invest and it's a real plus to speak Spanish, because when you don't master the language, it's an additional obstacle, even if everyone speaks English. I studied foreign languages, I'm of Spanish descent, and I've lived in Latin America, so I'm culturally close. I'd like to think that this personal background contributes to the quality work we've been doing for several years now.
It's also important to go in with the right projects and a very qualitative approach. We've launched our first Spanish series on the international market: Memento Mori (6x52') a thriller/crime series produced by Zebra Producciones (Izen Group) for Amazon Prime Spain, online since October 27. And our second English-language series: Serial Killer's Wife (4x52'), a thriller/drama produced by Clapperboard and Blackbox for Paramount+ in the UK. Beyond French series, we have this dynamic that enables us to arrive with a diversified portfolio of European productions. We want Latin America to be a more important playground for us in the years to come.
What about dubbing for these territories? Is this something you're investing in?
We don't finance dubbing in Latin America. This is the responsibility of our channel partners. We do, of course, have access to these dubbed versions. That said, on the animation front, we've started making test episodes in neutral Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese for the animated series Imago (26x22'), an action/adventure series produced by La Chouette Compagnie for TF1. We have many interests in Latin America. We launched this operation in June, ahead of a trip to Brazil and the United States, and we hope that by MIP Cancun we'll be able to get some initial feedback, with, we hope, new sales to be announced around the next Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris in January 2024.
Do you have any other Newen catalog news to share?
We have a lot of great news. Polar Park (6x52’), produced by 2.4.7. MAX and ARTE France, a visually stunning blend of thriller and comedy, currently airing on ARTE, is delivering record ratings. Rousseau, a writer lacking inspiration, returns to Mouthe to unravel the secret of his birth. At the same time, the gendarmerie is looking for a murderer with a passion for works of art. Rousseau helps Louvetot, the local police officer, to penetrate the serial killer's creative mind.
We've also signed on to Season 2 o Cœurs noirs (Dark Hearts), written by Virginie Brac (Engrenages), alongside Amazon Prime and France Télévisions. Produced by Mandarin Production (winner of the Procirep French TV Producer Award in 2022) for Amazon Prime Video, the second season of the series is scheduled for 2025. The first season, written by Corinne Garfin and Duong Dang-Thaï (creators of Le Bureau des Légendes series) and directed by Oscar-nominated Ziad Doueiri (The Insult, Baron Noir), was an immediate critical and commercial success, garnering dazzling reviews and becoming the most-watched series on Amazon Prime Video France when it launched in February 2023.
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