Category: TV

“Zorro” – TV Series Review

When I learned that Jean Dujardin, best known here for his Oscar-winning performance in THE ARTIST, was starring in a new series as the legendary masked hero of yore, I started salivating over the chance to screen this new version of “Zorro”. Most of the Zorro productions ever since the first film in the silent era have been written with some degree of levity. This eight-hour French miniseries offers some splendid moments, but winds up going astray. It also varies considerably in concept from all the other incarnations, and not to great advantage.

This Zorro is a middle-aged Don Diego in 1820s’ Los Angeles who hasn’t worn the costume for twenty years. He’s been married for 17, but neither his wife, Gabriella (Audrey Dana) nor his father Don Alejandro (Andre Sussolier) ever learned of his secret identity.  He’s now a rather mousy, naïve clerk who’s been working for his dad for over 40 years as a quill-pushing City Hall drudge. When pappy kicks the bucket, Don Diego becomes the new alcalde (mayor), only to learn that he gets less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. That’s the first disconnect. In almost every other version, Diego is smarter and cagier than everyone else, playing the fool or fop as part of his strategy to keep anyone from even thinking he could be the dashing rogue in black. This dufus is hard to reconcile with the skills and savvy he displays when he puts on the disguise from yesteryear for another round of anonymous heroics.

When acting as Zorro, Dujardin and/or his stunt double show all the panache and agility of the best of his predecessors, including the beaming smile during his flashy dispatchings of baddies. But he still remains clueless as his civilian self, as both a public official and as a husband. On the plus side, a couple of figures from the Disney TV series – which many of us likely consider the basis for all comparisons – are revived for this one. Mute aide Bernardo (Salvatore Ficarra), who only pretends to be deaf for gathering intel, is an asset. Comic foil Sgt. Garcia (Gregory Gadebois) who has been the biggest source of laughs in most versions since the Disney days, remains fat and incompetent, but a bit wiser from 20 more years on the job. Just a bit. In the beginning of Episode Three, he gets to shine in one of my favorite scenes from the whole enchilada.      

The casting is fine, and the action sequences are quite entertaining. Swordfights are quite unbloody, but highly acrobatic and mostly played for laughs. But the script from four credited writers is a huge disappointment. Some parts are fun – like Don Alejandro’s “ghost” popping up to chastise or annoy his son a bunch of times. But most of the plot makes little sense; the usual big, bad villains are not in the package. I won’t go into details, but Don Diego’s character arc may grow tiresome for you, as it did for me, stretching too little conflict, heroism and enlightenment over too much running time. The first four hours played better than most of the last four.

Perhaps my hopes were too high from loving THE ARTIST and enjoying some of Dujardin’s OSS117 James Bond spoofs. If you tone down your expectations from this caveat, you’ll likely be more satisfied. It’s obvious that the dude still has all his comedy chops intact, even in a vehicle that doesn’t deploy them to maximum advantage.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars

“Zorro”, in French with subtitles, streams on MHz Choice June 30.

https://watch.mhzchoice.com/zorro

Jean Dujardin

“Family Detective” – TV Series Review

CLEMENTINE CELARIE; BERNARD LE COQ

Among all the European TV crime series I’ve reviewed, ranging from deadly serious to comedic, “Family Detective” (originally, “Enquete en famille”) is probably the zaniest. Claire (Clementine Celarie) and Philippe Rochette (Bernard Le Coq), who own a hardware store in Renne are thrilled when their daughter Charline (Naima Rodic) returns home from Paris to serve as a police captain.  They’re overflowing with suffocating involvement in her life and career. They’re not only helicopter hoverers by nature, but avid devourers of crime fiction who stumble all over themselves and others in their unsolicited efforts to help Charline and her partner Bastien (Marc Ruchmann) solve each week’s murder.

The season is six 50-minute episodes, each with its own case for Charline and her team to handle. In a town where everyone seems to know everyone, with gossipers spreading news of crimes and developments in their sleuthing faster than any electronic medium could match, Charline is variably helped, hampered or annoyed by her parents’ well-intended, but often counterproductive or redundant, attempts to streamline her progress to the finish line.

https://watch.mhzchoice.com/the-family-detective

Unlike most of these shows, the lead cop is not the star. The camera stays mostly on the parents, whose over-the-top arguments and strategies dominate the proceedings. They are likable enough, but Charline’s desire for distance from them is easy to understand. She thought she was coming home with her beau, only to find that he’d decided to stay in Paris and ignore her calls for explanation. Soon, she also learns that she’s pregnant with his kid. All this while starting a new position of responsibility.

The scripts by Bruno Dega and Jeanne le Guillou serve up a nice array of typical murders, ranging from a likely staged suicide to a murder masked by arson, to a woman shot (mistakenly or deliberately) while riding her horse through the woods, to a dead scam artist found in his hotel. The most engaging scenario is probably the magician in the familiar box who gets run through when one of the swords does what it shouldn’t hadda oughta done to him.

In each case, the crime is mainly a setup for what the parents will do, with varying degrees of help and hindrance. Claire is absurdly strident, often bordering on hysterics. Both parents have their moments of being astute and clueless, with the latter considerably more prevalent. Ms. Celarie has shined in several other productions I’ve covered, and this role is a big stretch from those more serious and low-key performances. It was probably great fun for her to overact to this extent.     

I recommend the series with a caveat. A little of Claire’s histrionics goes a long way. Bingeing for review purposes became rather exhausting. Since each episode is a stand-alone, I advise spreading them out to enjoy the comedy as the producers intended. Be sure to see them in order, since relationship progressions are important. And, in case you’re as curious as I was, they did not incorporate Naima’s real-life pregnancy into the scripts. Charline’s rapidly burgeoning belly is a set of prosthetics that was planned from the get-go.    

The series aired abroad in October, 2025. No decision yet on whether there will be a second season. They don’t end with serious cliffhangers, but there are questions about what may come next on the interpersonal plot threads that I hope will be pursued.

RATING: 2 1/2 out of 4 stars

“Family Detective”, in French with subtitles, streams on MHz Choice on May 19, 2026.

“Adamsberg Mysteries” Season One TV Series Review

The two-part French telefilm, “Fred Vargas’ The Adamsberg Mysteries” (originally “Sur la dalle”) might either be a one-and-done, or the pilot for a series of procedural films featuring police detective Adamsberg (Yvan Attal). I hope it’s the latter.

The grizzled veteran is called to a town in Brittany by local top cop Mathieu (Olivier de Benoist) for help in solving some weird serial-style killings. They’d worked together before on a tough case, so the reunion was a likely step in the sleuthing for this new challenge. The village had been home to the famous Chateaubriand as its only claim to fame. Though the family no longer owned their ancestral chateau, the last descendant, Josselin (Micha Lescot), would ponce around town in period apparel, posturing as the viscount he would have been in earlier times, providing photo ops for the tourists, and tolerant amusement to the locals.

The town’s culture was suffused with a strange superstition. Stepping on someone’s shadow would spell their doom. Some believed it with religious fervor, forming a cult of acolytes. While our cops are on the case, multiple killings occur tastefully off-camera, pointing to an arcane motive and method. The eccentric Josselin is a prime suspect. So much so that he regularly asks the cops why they’re not arresting him. He seems naïve, simultaneously taking his stagey persona seriously and recognizing its folly. Several other locals emerge as likely suspects or victims. They add up to a colorful little batch of oddballs and customs.

When Adamsberg is summoned at the beginning, we see Corinne Masiero, oft-praised by this writer for her delightfully eccentric eponymous character in the long-running “Captain Marleau”series, as a team member who is supposed to go there with him. But she bows out, barely to be seen again. She’s replaced by lovely Virginie Ledoyen as a newcomer to the squad. One supposes she’s there for eye candy but as events unfold, she proves to have a number of surprising and valuable skills to contribute. In fact, if they don’t knock out more of these movies for Adamsberg, they should consider spinning her off to a film or series of her own.

The story is adapted by Emmanuel Carrere from a novel by Fred Vargas (hence the title in the imported version). The cast is full of interestingly crafted and diverse characters; the screenplay has a suitable number of twists and surprises for such dramas, with touches of levity along the way. Director Josee Dayan makes good use of the Brittany environs, and keeps things moving at a satisfying pace. Definitely an easy and worthy watch.

“Fred Vargas’ The Adamsberg Mysteries,” in French with English subtitles, streams on MHz Choice as of May 12, 2026.

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

Louis-Do Lencquesaing

“Master Crimes: Season 3” – TV Series Review

The charming French procedural “Master Crimes” returns for its third – and likely final – season, of Criminal Psych professor Louise (Muriel Robin) solving murders with Paris police detective Barbara Delandre (Anne Le Nen) and her quartet of students learning the craft from their mentor. Below is my review of Season One. Although I equally enjoyed more of the same mix of sleuthing and levity in Season 2, I apparently did so too late to review it for this esteemed publication. So, to refresh memories (including mine): https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2024/09/master-crimes-season-1-tv-series-review/

Most of the main cast returns. The aforementioned hottie (Astrid Roos) is replaced by newcomer Allyson Yang (Ayumi Roux), who brings an air of mystery about her backstory, along with a razor-sharp mind to their talented team. Louise is on the verge of finally marrying her long-time suitor, the Chief (Olivier Claverie). He’s thrilled to be making elaborate plans for a gala affair; her enthusiasm level is far short of his. Anne’s nascent relationship with medical examiner Theo (Michael Cohen) is complicated by the arrival of his newly-discovered bitchy daughter, who resents the hell out of daddy’s main squeeze. And, for one more subplot thread to run through the season, Louise’s adult son, Guillaume (Nicolas Gob, who co-stars in the classy light-hearted series, “The Art of Crime”), comes home with his tail between his legs over his failing marriage.

https://watch.mhzchoice.com/master-crimes

As to the crimes to be solved in each of the six hour-long episodes, they all provide suitable challenges with multiple possibilities for our set of protagonists. The two dozen credited writers who crafted the 18 episodes maintain consistent quality in both plotting and character development. Directors Marwen Abdallah and Amandine Bonnin, who helmed four and two episodes, respectively, made fine use of Parisian exteriors and interiors as settings, pacing the stories and sidebars so nothing ever seemed to drag.

The first begins with a woman’s body dramatically and publicly displayed. The second starts with a woman who is mutilated shortly after divorcing her oppressive hubby under the liberating influence of a self-help guru. The third victim is the Mother Superior of a convent who had made it her mission to reform criminals by bringing them into the cloisters as novitiates for God to reverse the path society had provided. Her idealistic plans did not meet with universal approval.    

The fourth gives us a considerable tone shift, as Louise, Anne and the students are abducted by a man who’d just finished serving time for murdering his wife. He confines them in the home where it occurred, rigged to explode if they don’t exonerate him and prove who really did it within 24 hours. He is convinced the culprit was Anne, who’d figured prominently in his arrest and prosecution. The fifth opens with a sous chef killed and set in an elaborately staged picnic in front of the upscale restaurant in which he’d worked under his aunt. The finale revolves around payback for a rapist/murderer who gets what’s coming to him after the law did its (presumably inadequate) part.

Of course, all the crimes are solved within the allotted time, and most of the B plotlines wrap with some degree of closure. There are still a few more story arcs worthy of pursuit if the Gods of Renewal decide to smile upon this excellent series. If they do, I’ll smile along with them.

“Master Crimes: Season 3”, in French with subtitles, streams April 28, 2026 in the U.S. and Canada on MHz Choice.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

“Lakeside Murders” (Koskinen) – TV Series Review

The original title of this Finnish police procedural series, “Koskinen”, is the name of the lead detective and star, Eero Aho. The US title “Lakeside Murders” highlights the city he serves, Tampere, which is located between two lakes, providing plenty of lovely scenery, even in a snow-covered season. The ten 45-minute episodes are five two-part crimes for Koskinen and his Violent Crimes squad to solve within several wintry months. All are based on a series of novels by Seppo Jokinen.

The first centers on a cyberterrorist attack on the whole city, starting with a hack of its computerized tram system. The second features a serial killer preying on young women (Don’t they all? Well, at least the ones in movie and TV thrillers). The third starts with a jewelry store heist that turns fatal, but yields screen time to an unlikely series of heart attacks killing patients in a convalescent center. Koskinen’s former colleague Roine (Pertti Sveholm) is living there, and starts raising suspicions. But they’re the only ones who are open to the idea, and must figure it out on their own.

The fourth revolves around drug thefts from pharmacies and a trio of wheelchair-bound residents of a facility. It offers a unique look at the disabled, including the fact that they can be just as loutish as their fully-mobile counterparts. The last starts with a group of teens committing various crimes, leading to drug dealing as the unifying link among them. They work for a truly dangerous boss, whose capacity for violence was learned on battlefields. 

As such programs go, this one is relatively dry. The cast is more plain-looking than the attractive stars we choose for our prime-time fare. There’s not a lot of emotional range required for any of the cops. Little levity or banter. Most of the emotion comes from Koskinen’s wife and son who resent the hell out of his preoccupation with his work. Those two grow really annoying. The most likable character might be Roine – a rotund, bearded old-timer who has more common sense and insight than Koskinen’s younger colleagues and mostly persnickety superiors.

The series is quite somber in tone, with little violence until the climactic confrontations in each duo. Some romantic subplots, but no nudity. The four episodes dealing with the elderly and disabled add an extra shot of social relevance to the mysteries. One switches formats by letting us know who the perp is long before the cops figure it out – like a “Columbo” episode. Besides his wife’s nagging, Koskinen must deal with recurring nightmares about a traumatic incident, and his loathing of paperwork that is heaped upon him after a midseason promotion. The dude is hard-wired for the field, not the office.

Caution – This season ends with a major cliffhanger. Normally, I’d resent this, as our regular readers know. But the show has already aired in Finland for four seasons, and I don’t expect a long wait for #2 to stream here.   

“Lakeside Murders”, in Finnish with subtitles, begins streaming on MHz Choice on March 17, 2026.

“Cassandre: Season Six” – TV Series Review

GWENDOLINE HAMON
ALEXANDRE VARGA

Fast upon the heels of the late January streaming release of “Cassandre: Season 5” (review), here are another quartet of light crime dramas from French TV for our eponymous homicide cop and her squad to solve in 90 minutes, apiece, comprising Season 6.

Most of what I’ve written before still applies to cast and tone. This season might tip the scales somewhat more towards individual character arcs in proportion to the crimes du jour. The romance between Cassandre’s (Gwendoline Hamon) son Jules (Luca Malinowski) and Pascal’s (Alexandre Varga) newly-discovered daughter, Lili (Fanny Ami), becomes a source of drama, along with the lighter sidebar of Pascal’s struggle to figure out how to be a good papa on such short notice to a strong-willed adult. And, of course, the will-they/won’t-they tease between the two stars continues, prolonged mostly by Cassandre’s waffling, and some bits of bad timing.

The other two members of the squad – Nicky (Jessy Salomee Ugolin) and Jean-Paul (Dominique Pinon) also have bigger developments in their off-duty lives. Pinon gets some particularly poignant moments in a couple of episodes, and nails them like the old pro that he is. Even the new prosecutor (Soren Prevost) who oversees their efforts with the genre-standard dose of fussiness shows some other sides to his mean-boss persona.

Major Kerouac (Emmanuelle Bougerol) who holds down the fort at the station also proves she may become as valuable in support as her predecessor. (Digression – I’ve been wondering why a major is subordinate to the captains and lieutenants of the detective squad. In French police hierarchy, a major is the highest ranking non-com, running the admin side – akin to a master sergeant in our army. It’s a separate chain of command from the officers of the detective side.)

As to the murders, the first opens with a burned sailboat drifting along the coastline with the charred remains of a young woman, and the guy who should have been at the helm missing. The second swirls around the death of a jerk who sabotaged a local organic farm by secretly using pesticides that cost them their prized designation and most of their business. The third involves the latest star triathlete from a family of triathlete stars of both genders who is found strangled on his running path. This one goes particularly heavy on clashes and resentments among the rest of his relatives, with more emotional complexity than usual. Series co-creator Bruno Lecigne and two other credited writers, Thomas Griffet and Jean-Marc Taba, deserve special mention for this script. The last begins with a young woman coming home to find both parents fatally shot, with plenty of possibilities to explore as to which of them may have been the primary target, and for what reason(s).

As always, individual cases are closed and personal story arcs progress, leading to Season 7, which seems likely to also follow in short order. That and Season 8 already aired abroad, with #9 having just begun its first run. I’m in for the duration, and think most of you who watch it will feel the same.

“Cassandre: Season Six”, in French with subtitles, streams on MHz Choice on March 3, 2026.

2 1/2 stars out of 4

https://watch.mhzchoice.com/cassandre/season:6

Apple TV’s FOR ALL MANKIND Drops A Stellar New Trailer

Apple TV has debuted the pulse-pounding trailer for season five of “For All Mankind,” the hit, critically acclaimed space drama series from creators Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi. The 10-episode fifth season will make its global debut on Apple TV with one episode on Friday, March 27, followed by one new episode every Friday through May 29.

The series, which imagines that the space race never ended, first started airing in 2019. It’s absolutely brilliant and a must-see… for many reasons. NASA is on the brink of launching the Artemis II from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to travel to the Moon. And on the eve of PROJECT HAIL MARY, fans have an extra helping of sci-fi tech nerd-ness before the Phil Lord & Christopher Miller film opens on March 20.

Season five of “For All Mankind” picks up in the 2010s, years since the Goldilocks asteroid heist. Happy Valley has grown into a thriving colony with thousands of residents and a base for new missions that will take us even further into the solar system. But with the nations of Earth now demanding law and order on the Red Planet, friction continues to build between the people who live on Mars and their former home. The ensemble cast returning for season five includes Joel Kinnaman, Toby Kebbell, Edi Gathegi, Cynthy Wu, Coral Peña and Wrenn Schmidt, alongside new series regulars Mireille Enos (“The Killing,” “Hanna”), Costa Ronin (“The Americans,” “Homeland”), Sean Kaufman (“The Summer I Turned Pretty”), Ruby Cruz (“Bottoms”) and Ines Asserson (“Royalteen”).

“For All Mankind” is created by Emmy Award winner Moore, and Emmy Award nominees Wolpert and Nedivi. Wolpert and Nedivi serve as showrunners and executive produce alongside Moore and Maril Davis of Tall Ship Productions, as well as Kira Snyder, David Weddle, Bradley Thompson and Seth Edelstein. “For All Mankind” is produced for Apple TV by Sony Pictures Television.

All four seasons of “For All Mankind” are now streaming on Apple TV.

MURDER IN… Season 15 – TV Series Review

Barbara Cabrita Quentin Faure

The title “Murder in … (Season 15)” applies to a wraparound for an anthology of 90-minute French crime telefilms that all feature different casts and locales. The common thread is that each murder mystery occurs in a new picturesque locale with protagonist cops of varying types and combinations dispensing justice, after sorting through a handful, or more, of suspects and motives. The lovely, plentiful transition scenes are noteworthy for showing why each site “du jour” – mostly coastal – attracts vacationers. One almost wonders if the national tourism board underwrites the productions to spread the business around the country. 

These TV movies have been running for about 15 years as stand-alone dramas. There’s little repetition of characters, though some actors may recur in other roles. MHz Choice streams them here under the” Murder In… “ umbrella, mostly adding the city or town for each to the title. This release is eight cases, all of which work well for those who like intelligent procedurals with relatively little blood and gore. The array of plots is as diverse as the range of settings. And since none relate to each other, one can watch them in any order, and without any need to binge – unless you’re pushing to screen them all in time to write a review in time for the first of the eight weekly releases.

They open with a Dutch ex-soldier found dead in a strange pose on the French side of lush Caribbean isle of Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten. That gets resolved after a brief jurisdictional turf dispute between the two counties that share dominion there. The one set in CATALONIA begins with the murder of an aging flamenco dancer who is trying to revive her career. In CONCARNEAU, the body of the owner of a fleet of vessels washes ashore in a wet suit, though no one knew why he would have been in the water. The surly lead cop here, Gabriel Riviere (Guillaume Arnault) is the least likeable of the season’s crime busters, seething with old grudges.

In PERIGORD, a woman is crowned queen of a territory that still maintains a mostly-symbolic royal lineage. Her reign lasts only a couple of hours before she’s assassinated. I suppose it counts as one, rather than just a garden-variety murder, since the title comes with a mansion on valuable property, a nice bundle of money, and a multi-generational tradition of supporting Chile’s Mapuche Indians as its main cause.   This struck me as one of the more interesting plots.  Next, we go to the BALAGNE area of Corsica with a citadel surrounding much of the town. That’s important since the stiff that triggers this case was ostentatiously hanged from the top of its high wall, overlooking the busy harbor. This one really delves deeply into the emotions of the principals, as the lead cop came there from Paris for her late husband’s memorial service before being roped into the investigation. Very solid, moving character drama.

AUDIERNEflirts with the supernatural. Local legend has it that ancient ruins are buried under the sea just off the coast, and that church bells can be heard by some as a warning of impending danger. Of course, that becomes a tourism lure, with dive cruises to find it, as other entrepreneurs do in many places with their local “haunted” houses. As far as I know, this is the only one that starred actors (Evelyne Bouix, Jeremy Banster) as protagonists who’d paired in those roles before. Twice.

REGULUS CAVES plied more familiar thematic territory, with a guy found on the cliffs by some ruins, fatally stabbed and posed just like a woman’s body had been 20 years earlier. That murder remained unsolved. Are they related? Anyone who’s ever seen even a handful of crime shows knows they must be. But the process of making the connection is still well played by perhaps my favorite pair of sleuths of this lot, played by Shemss Audat and Antoine Hamel.  

The last one is set in a tennis tournament taking place in Paris, on the Roland Garros’ clay courts that host the French Open. The most promising young woman in the competition is found dead on Court 13 just before matches are scheduled to begin, unearthing a web of rivalries and issues among the teen players, their parents and staff members. This one is noteworthy for the presence of former pro star Yannick Noah in a significant role. It also stars an engaging pair of cops played by Florent Peyre and Roxanne Roux, who might deserve their own series.

Bottom line – not a clunker in the bunch. Each offers pleasing visuals. All are typically restrained on displays of violence and number of shots fired, as in most European procedurals. Casting directors made fine choices all around, even including the dude I didn’t like. Genre fans will vary as to which they prefer, but none will be disappointed with these relaxing bits of mystery escapism.

https://watch.mhzchoice.com/murder-in

“Murder in… Season 15”, in French with subtitles, begins streaming on MHz Choice on February 24, with one release each week thereafter.

“TOM AND LOLA” – TV Series Review

Dounia Coesens (Lola Briand) Pierre-Yves Bon (Tom SERINO)

The French procedural series “Tom and Lola” leans into the dramedy realm, with lighthearted relationship subplots offsetting the murders they solve in less than an hour, each week of this twelve-episode first season. The eponymous police detectives, Tom (Pierre-Yves Bon) and Lola (Dounia Coesens) have a long, shared history before having gone their separate ways. Years later, he’s reassigned to her unit. Though she’s the boss, he’s equal in rank, making for ongoing amusing competitiveness between them over who will be in charge of what, and who will figure anything out first. Both actors are charming and appealing, individually and as a will-they/won’t-they duo. She epitomizes the wholesome girl-next-door image; he’s got the looks of one who has warmth to give, and lives up to that presentation, at home and with suspects. Tom and Lola were BFFs as kids, and still frequently act like playful siblings, providing comic relief from their stresses, and for our amusement. 

Since they’d been apart, she’s had two kids with two dads, neither of whom is paying the ordered support, leaving her on the verge of eviction. Tom moves in with his own surly daughter to share expenses while he desperately hopes to reunite with wife Cynthia (Blandine Papillon) who is divorcing him.  He’s a methodical neatnik. She’s more frazzled and disorganized. He follows rules and procedures; she’s more of a maverick. And Gaelle (Elodie Varlet), the attractive medical examiner who is Lola’s bestie, has the hots for Tom, and hopes his wife becomes his ex. All that sets up quite a swirl of character comedy. And, unlike several other series that blend large doses of family matters with the primary crime-solving, the screen time allotted to brattiness among their offspring, rather than body count is refreshingly low. Throughout the season, their combined teen and pre-teen trio cause far fewer problems than most of the police progeny in similar series.   

The murders occur in familiar plot territory, ranging from a variation on the locked-room mysteries, to a seemingly impossible fatal stabbing while the victim is flying solo in his hot-air balloon. One involves an old woman who believes her late husband is trying to kill her from beyond.  Setting the series in Toulon, on Southern France’s Mediterranean coastline provides several plots that begin with bodies turning up in those seemingly friendly waters for a variety of reasons. Coroner Gaelle – the most engaging character among the supporting cast – even gets her own featured episode (the 9th) when she’s accused of murdering a guy whose corpse is found in her morgue, though he was quite healthy when he strolled in. The 12th gives us a self-styled vigilante, who actually catches some baddies before problems arise.

The appeal of the cast and the visual pleasures of Toulon and its environs make these a set of nice breezy ways to spend an hour. The main plots are stand-alone, but should be viewed in order for the relationship progressions.  No cliff-hangers, though questions remain about what may be coming in Season Two. That dozen aired abroad late last year, and will surely follow this entertaining intro to our side of the Pond. You’ll like them! You’ll really like them! 

“Tom and Lola”, in French with subtitles, streams on MHz Choice on February 10, 2026.

3 Out Of 4 Stars

https://watch.mhzchoice.com/tom-and-lola

“Cassandre: Season 5” – TV Series Review

Gwendoline HAMON – Alexandre VARGA – Dominique PINON – Jessy UGOLIN

In “Cassandre: Season 5”  All the regulars return for another quartet of 90-minute light crime dramas to be solved by our intrepid quintet of coppers in this ongoing French TV series. Review of Season 4 HERE.

The will- they/won’t-they love tease between Cassandre (Gwendoline Hamon) and Pascal (Alexandre Varga) continues on its rocky course. The other three principals in the homicide squad also have several romantic and personal developments claiming some screen time.  One particular new arrival complicates life for the stars, in a plot thread that might wear thin on some viewers.

The individual murder cases are generally up to snuff with their predecessors, though the second relies a bit heavily on coincidence, and the third might turn out less surprisingly than series fans would expect.  Series creator and main writer Bruno Lecigne splits the script creation duties with Mathieu Masmondet and a slew of others keeping a steady balance between the humor and crime-solving sides of the episodes.   

No need to binge, but watch them in order for relationship progressions. I’d also recommend spreading them out a bit. Screening them back-to-back for review purposes left me a bit irritated with the ratio of soapy subplots to more substantive elements, and impatient with the stars’ avoidance of many things that should have been said or done sooner. Or maybe that’s just symptomatic of my progressive curmudgeination (My word, but feel free to use it on any old crabs in your lives.).

Despite these freshly-picked nits the season was enjoyable enough to keep me ready for the rest of the series to cross the Atlantic. They’ve already aired three more seasons, with a few more episodes scheduled for later this year. I would have liked for Dominique Pinon’s Jean-Paul to be featured more, but there are plenty of episodes left for him to enhance with his unique charm.  

“Cassandre: Season Five”, in French with subtitles, streams on MHz Choice starting on February 3.

3 Out Of 4 Stars

https://watch.mhzchoice.com/cassandre/season:5