“Marion” – TV Series Review

“Marion” is a police procedural drama series from French TV, and a perfect example of why I try to see a whole season before reviewing it, rather than assuming the rest from a partial release for screening. This one’s set in Paris, with Edwidge Marion (Louise Monot) taking over the small squad of railway detectives operating out of La Gare du Nord. The six-episode season consists of three two-part cases. As usual, the series combines its crimes du jour with romances, personal stories and evolving relationships among the principals and their families. This one is somewhat heavier on baggage (not the kind passengers carry) and backstories than most, with a disorienting number of flashbacks. Each pair of episodes had a different author… unfortunately.

In the first offering, an attack on a deaf lad in a train station mens’ room leads down a rabbit hole (rather literally and figuratively) to an extensive series of gruesome crimes, with a laudable amount of suspense anchoring a few romantic subplots. The latter brings a couple of dimly-lit boinks, but no exposed naughty bits in Laetitia Kugler’s well-crafted script.

My appreciation of the writing started fading with the next duo, written by Caroline Ophelie. A prisoner is killed while being transferred through the train station for medical reasons under Marion’s watch. She is unfairly blamed for the screw-up in protection. The victim had allegedly cached away $11 million from a heist, and the cops really wanted to learn where it was hidden before he croaked. The investigation turns up several suspects, and includes a couple of twists, but the path to the goal line seemed relatively stilted, compared to the first mystery.

Then it bottomed out with Round Three, penned by David Bourgie. In this one, Marion is shot in the head at the beginning. While in a coma, her body disappears from the hospital. The search leads to a bizarre set of circumstances, ranging from mummies of recent origin to a far-fetched set of psychological and logistic elements. Even worse, numerous actions of the protagonists are ridiculously inept and foolhardy, failing to even consider a blatantly obvious possible solution to the grisly crimes. This descended all the way to annoying as it unfolded.

(Side note – I just realized this series offers a double boost for feminism. Most of the best sleuthing comes from the female detectives. And the two women wrote better scripts than the guy.)

All things considered, I still recommend watching the first two or four episodes. Skip the third set (unless you want to confirm the basis for my displeasure. Or, you might even make it a drinking game, downing a shot each time one of the good guys does something stupid.) And it’s OK to hope for a second season. Marion and her crew have enough appeal to warrant further attention… if they line up the quality of writing the cast deserves.

Marion, in French with subtitles, streams on MHz Choice as of December 9, 2025.

2 Out Of 4 Stars