The 40 most popular french drama TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Ici tout commence
2020
country: France
This television drama series is centered around the prestigious culinary school of renowned chef Auguste Armand. The show follows the lives of students and staff as they navigate the challenges and pressures of the culinary world—delving into their personal and professional lives, revealing secrets, rivalries, and complex relationships.


Tomorrow Is Ours
2017
country: France
The story revolves around the people of Sète, France. Their lives are punctuated by family rivalries, romance and scenes from daily life, but also by plots involving police investigations, secrets and betrayals.


Plus belle la vie
2004
country: France
The daily lives of the inhabitants of "le Mistral", an imaginary neighbourhood in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, where wealthy families cross paths with the less than rich.


The Big Valley
1965
country: France
The Big Valley is an American western television series which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969. The show stars Barbara Stanwyck, as the widow of a wealthy nineteenth century California rancher. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman, and produced by Levy-Gardner-Laven for Four Star Television.


Kaamelott
2005
country: France
Kaamelott is a French comedy medieval fantasy television series created, directed, written, scored, and edited by Alexandre Astier, who also starred as the main character. The series, which originally ran for six seasons (referred to as 'books'), ran from January 3, 2005, to October 31, 2009, on M6. In this offbeat account of King Arthur's quest for the Grail, virtually every journey, battle or adventure is stopped dead in its tracks by the knights of the round table's most worldly traits: cowardice, greed, idiocy or misplaced chivalry. As a consequence, instead of epic adventures we are treated with the characters' pragmatic and anachronistic take on each and every event in the Grail legend, true to the purest sitcom tradition.


Lupin
2021
country: France
Inspired by the adventures of Arsène Lupin, gentleman thief Assane Diop sets out to avenge his father for an injustice inflicted by a wealthy family.


Princess Sissi
1997
country: France
Princess Sissi is a French-Canadian animated series. it debuted on October 27, 1997 on France 3. The series is based on the life of the empress of Austria Elisabeth of Bavaria, nicknamed "Sissi".


Rétro Découverte
2016
country: France
No overview available


Doc Martin
2004
country: France
Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in the title role. It was created by Dominic Minghella after the character of Dr. Martin Bamford in the 2000 comedy film Saving Grace. The show is set in the fictional seaside village of Portwenn and filmed on location in the village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, England, with most interior scenes shot in a converted local barn. Five series aired between 2004 and 2011, together with a feature-length special that aired on Christmas Day 2006. Series 6 began airing on ITV on 2 September 2013.


Tootuff
2001
country: France
No overview available


A Guy, a Girl
1999
country: France
This series tells the daily life of a couple : Jean and Alexandra. From easy cases: in bed, in the living room, in the kitchen, by phone... to rare ones: lost on an island or in the country, in Hong Kong, during a wedding... Jean and Alexandra's life is not exactly a long, quiet river.


Murders in...
2013
country: France
Murders in... is a collection of French-Belgian police TV movies taking place each time in a different French city and region.


Hélène et les Garçons
1992
country: France
The sitcom follows Hélène Girard and her friends in their life as students.


The Bureau
2015
country: France
Within the DGSE (General Directorate for External Security), a department called the Office Of Legends (BDL) forms and remote pilot the most important agents of the French intelligence services: Clandestine. Immersion in hostile country, their mission is to identify individuals who may be recruited as sources of information. Operating "under caption", that is to say in a fabricated identity from scratch, they live for many years in a permanent duplicity. Our hero just returned from a clandestine mission six years in Damascus. But contrary to what is required by safety rules, he does not abandon his legend and the identity under which he lived in Syria, thus putting in danger the whole system.


At Theatre Tonight
1966
country: France
At Theater tonight is a TV show broadcasted from 25th August 1966 to 21st September 1985. The show is broadcast plays recorded in two or three days, during public performances at the Théâtre Marigny on the Champs-Élysées, or sometimes Edouard VII theater.


Wakfu
2008
country: France
Follow Yugo and his friends Amalia, Evangelyne, Tristepin, Ruel and Az as they try to rescue the world of Wakfu from destruction.


Spiral
2005
country: France
This gritty crime drama set in the dark underbelly of Paris follows police officers and lawyers as they investigate and prosecute crimes. Throw any romantic notion of Paris out the window. Crime is dark. The legal system is darker. This is Spiral.


Les Mystères de l'amour
2011
country: France
Direct sequel to the cult French TV series “Hélène et les Garçons”.


Crossing Lines
2013
country: Belgium
Through globalization, many countries have been opened and barriers removed to ensure easy trade, travel and cultural diversity. However, this openness has given opportunities to criminals looking to exploit the system and ultimately threaten our global safety. As Europe has become a "safe house" for criminals eluding law enforcers, a special kind of law enforcement team is needed to handle specific ongoing crimes on a global level. "Crossing Lines" is the story of one such team, made up of five international cops, headed by Captain Daniel. The team - comprised of individuals who have little in common - must learn to live and work under the most dangerous and potentially deadly conditions. Housed in an unused storage section underneath the ICC, this mismatched team faces bureaucratic, jurisdictional and cultural obstacles while traversing continents in pursuit of justice.


Constellation
2024
country: Germany
When a fatal accident occurs on board the International Space Station, a lone astronaut makes the heroic journey back to Earth, only to discover key pieces of her life—including her young daughter—have changed.


War of the Worlds
1988
country: Canada
Humanity must resume its war against the Martians when they revive after decades of hibernation following their defeat in the 1950s. The fate of Earth may very well rest in the hands of a small yet courageous band: astrophysicist Harrison Blackwood, paraplegic computer wizard Norton Drake, microbiologist Suzanne McCullough and military man Paul Ironhorse.


SKAM France
2018
country: France
Skam France follows five french girls and their friends as they go to high-school.


Maigret
1991
country: Belgium
The pragmatic, reserved and refined Maigret investigates murders in his singular unhurried manner and inevitably discovers the truth.


Pacific Criminal
2019
country: France
Clarissa, a police captain from Réunion Island, is a squad commander in a working-class neighborhood of Nouméa, New Caledonia. Smart, stubborn, and a vital member of her squad, she's also a widow, raising two teenagers by herself.


Versailles
2015
country: France
The story of a young Louis XIV on his journey to become the most powerful monarch in Europe, from his battles with the fronde through his development into the Sun King. Historical and fictional characters guide us in a world of betrayal and political maneuvering, revealing Versailles in all its glory and brutality.


War of the Worlds
2019
country: France
When astronomers detect a transmission from another galaxy, it is definitive proof of intelligent extra-terrestrial life. The world’s population waits for further contact with bated breath. They do not have to wait long. Within days, mankind is all but wiped out by a devastating attack; pockets of humanity are left in an eerily deserted world. As aliens hunt and kill those left alive, the survivors ask a burning question – who are these attackers and why are they hell-bent on our destruction?


Heidi
2015
country: Germany
A plucky young orphan sent to live with her grandfather in the mountains discovers wonder and adventure around every corner.


Profiling Paris
2009
country: France
Chloé Saint-Laurent is a profiler and works with a police team to solve murders in Paris. She's very sweet, she wears very colored clothes and a huge yellow bag. She looks like a little girl who need a doll, but she's very smart and a very good profiler. Step by step, she fit in the team and her colleagues, very reserved at first, became her best friends.


Elite Force
2026
country: France
After an unprecedented attack on his unit, a high-ranking officer set to leave the field leads a perilous mission that forces him to confront his past.


Drops of God
2023
country: France
While the world of wine mourns the death of Alexandre Léger, his estranged daughter, Camille, learns his extraordinary collection is now hers. But before she can claim her inheritance, Camille must best Alexandre's protégé, Issei, in a test of their senses.


The Little Murders of Agatha Christie
2009
country: France
French adaptations of the stories by Agatha Christie.


Bref
2011
country: France
A lost thirty-something shares his struggles, from failed relationships to boring jobs and pointless nights out. Stuck in his routine at first, he slowly evolves, searching for meaning in his life. In short, he's just trying to live.


Deadly Tropics
2019
country: France
On the Caribbean island of Martinique, in the middle of the tropics, several mysterious murders occur. Now it is up to the two investigators Mélissa Sainte-Rose and Gaëlle Crivelli to solve the case - even if the two women have very different views of law.


Find Me in Paris
2018
country: France
When Lena Grisky, a Russian Princess and student at the Paris Opera Ballet School accidentally time travels to present day, she must quickly adapt if she hopes to keep her secret and hide from the dangerous Time Collectors.


The Cage
2024
country: France
Dreaming of going pro, a young fighter struggles to be seen until an unexpected face-off lands him a shot at the big time — and a ruthless rivalry.


Capitaine Marleau
2015
country: France
Beneath her eccentric appearance, Captain Marleau is a formidable detective. Her Sherlock Holmes deerstalker cap, her character, her unusual appearance, her humor, her unpredictable behavior--Captain Marleau is not your average gendarme. She never rushes an investigation; she becomes the investigation and relentlessly pursues the suspects.


Arsène Lupin
1971
country: France
Arsène Lupin is a French TV show which was co-produced with German, Canadian, Belgian, Dutch, Swiss, Italian and Austrian TV stations. It was only loosely based on Maurice Leblancs novels. Georges Descrières' portrayal of Arsène Lupin showed more similarity to Graf Yoster than to Maurice Leblanc's original. He behaved in the first place as a perfect gentleman who never got angry. He was always relaxed, because whatever could possibly had bothered him in daily life was taken care of by his butler. It wasn't questioned how he had come to his financial independence although the series sometimes discreetly implied that he was a professional criminal. Besides rescuing damsels in distress Lupin took on criminals, competing with their wit and intelligence. Either he stole paintings from rich people who had to be considered white-collar criminals or he acted as a detective who derailed criminal schemes. However, when he was attacked, he could defend himself effortlessly by using elegant jujutsu methods. Among the guest stars were German actors such as Günter Strack and Sky du Mont. Jean-Paul Salomé said in his commentary on the DVD version of his film Arsène Lupin he had like this series as a child. German TV, one the investors, would broadcast the show eventually between 18:00-20:00 o'clock because it was only allowed to show commercials within that very timeslot. For them to get a financial return on investment the show had to be appropriate for families and also for children who would watch it alone. Subsequently it was nearby to ask to defuse and flatten some of Leblanc's plots in order to avoid possible complaints that could force the station to broadcast the show beyond the "Vorabendprogramm".


Plus belle la vie, encore plus belle
2024
country: France
No overview available


Softly from Paris
1986
country: France
An anthology of erotic stories by famous writers like Guy de Maupassant, Nicolas Edme Restif de La Bretonne, Marquis de Sade, Giovanni Boccaccio, Marquis de Foudras, Daniel Defoe, Anton Tchekov, Jin Ping Mei, and Aristophanes.


Woke
2017
country: France
Describes everyday life in a Lyon LGBT centre, examining the initial political, emotional and sexual life of a man who recently came out as gay.
French television has moved from a broadcast-dominated tradition into a strong export position, particularly in crime and spy drama. The results tend to be shorter-run and more cinematic than Anglo-American equivalents.
Television drama is where the medium made its case as film's equal, from the cable era's antihero epics to the current streaming wave. Long-form gives character change room to actually happen.