TV series: A modern makeover of Judy Blume’s ‘Forever’ • FRANCE 24 English
[Music] Pleased to meet you. My wife’s the brains behind the charm. She holds me together. That makes her the most dangerous of all. You’re not real. Heads don’t explode like that. Heads don’t explode like that? No. How do heads explode? [Music] You have no idea who I am, do you? A second season of a French special ops war drama, a new series from Succession creator Jesse Armstrong and a star-studded mafia drama called Mobland. Welcome to our new TV series and TV film show with our critic. Hi there. Hi Charlie. Let’s start uh with a French series, the second season of K Noir, which is coming out on Prime Video. Yeah, that’s right. K Noir, it’s known as Dark Hearts um in English. It was a fairly successful series when it was first released in uh 2023. It stars French actor Nicola Duvo. Uh and it really follows a group of French special ops forces in Iraq during the height of the Islamic State group’s rule. Uh now season two uh follows their attempts to rescue one of their team members called Sab, excellently portrayed by French actress Nina Maurice who is kidnapped and held hostage by the terrorist group. And in fact, one of our colleagues, France 24’s Nina Mason, she got the chance to talk to two of the actors, Nicholas Duvelle and Nina Maurice. Take a look. The series focuses on an aspect of the military that we don’t necessarily see often. We’re more in the heads of the soldiers than in their physical ability. And I think that’s really the strength of the series is trying to understand how a mission like that works. And we got lots of feedback from people we train with and they were happy. I kept getting messages from people from the army asking what the second season was coming out. So yeah, it’s nice to hear that and it makes us think we did a good job. [Music] I can’t lie. I’m a little stressed just watching trailer right there. What were your thoughts on season two? Well, one thing that I do like about this show is that it does not romanticize war at all or the special ops forces in any way. It really offers or it attempts to offer a very realistic portrayal of the perilous missions that these soldiers undertake in often terrifying conditions. It is intense. It’s violent. It’s distressing to watch. I agree. Um but there is also a nice juosition between how the difficulties of balancing their personal lives and these missions. However, this season did feel a little bit more laborious to watch. Um personally, I had to rewind a lot of the scenes to make sure I kind of understood the intrigues. Uh, but I did finish the six six episodes um in three days, so it’s definitely bingeable. Uh, I would say it’s a a solid follow-up season. At this stage, it doesn’t look likely uh that there will be a third season. All right. Well, I was a huge fan of the series Succession. So, I’m very excited for you to tell us about creator Jesse Armstrong’s next project. It’s a TV film this time about tech bro billionaires. Sounds a little bit timely. Yeah, very timely. And I think I dare say you’ll recognize some very quirky personalities in these characters. Uh it’s a TV film called Mountain Head. It’s named for this Mountain Resort um uh that in which these four characters are based. Now Jesse Armstrong wrote and directed this TV film in his uh directorial debut. It boasts an impressive cast. There’s Steve Carell, Jason Schwarzman, stand-up comedian Ramy Yousef, and Corey Michael Smith. Um they play four tech billionaires hiding out in this luxurious mountain retreat called Mountain Head for a weekend while an international crisis of their doing unfolds around them. Um basically what happens is you have these deep fakes and one of the billionaires his name is Venice uh his social media network. Uh these deep fakes are circulating and they’ve sparked violence and unrest around the world. Um, and uh, earlier this month I spoke with two of the actors, Cory Michael Smith and Ramy Yousef, who play Venice and Jeff respectively. Take a look. Four presidents of tech get your net worth 59 63 bills. 220 bill. Guys, is this on every channel? There have been a number of occurrences since your launch. UN officials are now openly attributing the recent uptick in ethnic tension to powerful new generative AI tools unveiled last week on Tram. I just want to say this is not on you, Venice. Obviously, it’s not on me. Why would you even say that? This isn’t a biopic or a one for one for anybody in the tech world, but it is kind of um you know that allegory of of what it looks like to have um you know people who might not have a I guess you could say a most up-to-date emotional software um but they’re in this position of incredible power. You know, this really what what they’re trying to figure out is how can he save his business and his well-being and his net worth and his position of power. And if that means offing your friend, then well, that’s just what has to be done. Um, and playing that straight, uh, is so funny and really enjoyable, but outrageous and really despicable, but um, as an actor, what a gas. This was a terrifying experience and I don’t know that I’ll ever recover. really hitting a lot of newsworthy notes uh in this uh script here. What were your thoughts? Your verdict? Well, uh look, first thing I thought was the casting is brilliant. And when I did speak to those two actors, they were very careful not to mention or not to say whom their characters were based, although there are a lot of parallels you can draw. Uh now uh Jesse Armstrong uses that trademark sarcastic wit and dark humor that we also saw in Succession to entertain us with these uh fundamentally abominable characters. Um the film is shot nearly entirely in this luxurious resort which is gorgeous and luxurious but also feels claustrophobic and I think that definitely is a a cinematographic uh technique. It’s also remarkable how quickly uh this project was uh was done. uh basically from pitch to release it took only six months and reportedly Armstrong said he really wanted to rush this project because he felt that it was so timely it needed to get out uh quickly and you know as you can see there there’s a deliberate not so subtle dig at toxic tech billionaires the damage of unchecked powered egos eyewatering wealth as well as uh the dangers of unregulated artificial intelligence and deep fakes and social media and so forth. Now the damage is we see it in this film. It’s a world where social networks and AI and deep fakes have replaced news gathering and journalism and the impact is very real and I think that’s where the film really hits hard and the message could not be more topical. I’m just not quite sure how much of it I understood because there is a lot of sort of tech jargon and business jargon that sometimes you might get lost in. But overall a solid film perfect for a certain kind of audience. Exactly. Well, your next uh series that you’re bringing us uh has a more classic theme, the mafia. Lots lots to touch on there. We’ve got Pierce Broen, Helen Mir, and Tom Hardy. Some big names headlining a British mafia drama called Mob Land. This one from Paramount Plus. Yeah, that’s right. And it’s from the brains of Guy Richie, who directed the first two episodes of this British gangster drama. Uh, now Pierce Brozen and a chilling Helen Mirren play the head of the Harrigon family in Mobland. They’re jostling for power and influence against a rival family, the Stevensons. Tom Hardy is their reliable fixer, if you like. He’s the man they call when they need help cleaning messes, so to speak. Uh, the series was released in the US and UK back in March. It gets its French premiere this month. Take a look. Name’s Conrad Harrian, family man. And if you cross my family, well, you’d better pray. We shake the right hands, break the wrong ones. I think we have a situation developing. We don’t ask, we take. And when someone forgets their place, I’ve got a man for that. Problem solved. All right. Decades after playing Bond, looks like Pierce Brosman still got it there. What did you make of the series? Well, uh, you know, as I said, Guy Richie directed the first two episodes. It definitely has his trademark cartoonish gangster humor. Uh, it is a British mafia drama, but Pierce Brzen plays a head of a Irish clan, the Harrian family, and he’s comical and terrifying at the same time. um as this this patriarch who’s desperately trying to hold on to his family’s reputation and empire. Now, the pairing of a Pierce Brosman and a cold-blooded Helen Mirin and the clinical Tom Hardy is fabulous. It it just really works really well and they help transcend the series beyond your typical mafia crime drama. There are some tropes though. You know, you have the idiot son or the grandson whose messes need to be fixed and the gratuitous violence. But, you know, overall, I found that it was a pretty pretty decent crime drama. It’s a fun violent ride with some very good performances from a star-studded cast. All right. And finally, Deept, I’m really excited to hear your thoughts on this next one. A famed Judy Bloom novel uh that’s getting a modern makeover, so to speak, from Netflix. like so many women of our generation, you know, Judy Bloom played a very pivotal role in my adolescence. So, I’m excited to see uh how this was transformed. Well, mine too. Judy Bloom was uh you know, a pivotal person in in a lot of our childhoods, especially if you grew up in a certain time. Now, uh this 1975 novel is about the sexual awakening of uh two teenagers. It was considered uh Charlie one of the most controversial of her books because of its sexual content. It led to the book actually being banned from schools in multiple US states including Florida, Iowa, and Texas. That’s according to PEN America, a nonprofit organization that advocates freedom of expression. Uh in the TV series, showrunner Mara Brock Akil, who actually brought us the 2000’s series Girlfriends, um brings sort of reimagines a book. It’s uh called uh Forever and it’s set in LA in 2018 featuring two black leads. You have Kesha who’s a star athlete. Her family is living paycheck to paycheck but she dreams of an Ivy League college. And Justin, a basketball player with ADHD from a wealthy family who’s feeling the pressure to succeed. They meet at a party and their lives are never the same uh afterwards. It’s tender. It’s affectionate. It so beautifully tackles the unique challenges of being black in America while addressing issues that affect teens all round like revenge, porn, consent, and difficulties like ADHD. It’s been lauded for its depiction of black teenage love, something you almost never see on television. And it’s already been renewed for a second season. Yeah, far out of my teenage years, but I have to say, watching the trailer, I got a little emotional lighting. That’s right. Thank you so much, Deep D. And we’re going to leave you audience with a look of look at this update of Judy Bloom’s book Forever out on Netflix this month. And of course for more Arts 24 you can always check out our website. That’s224.com. Stay with us. The news is next. [Music] You’re just weeks away from getting that scholarship. Don’t let that boy distract you. Early decision is your best shot. You should have it all planned out, don’t you? No, we have a plan. I don’t want to weigh you down. You don’t have to worry about that. I think we have something good going. I’m always going to be here for you forever.
A second season of a French special ops war drama, a new series from “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong, a star-studded mafia drama called “MobLand”, and the Judy Blume classic teen novel “Forever” updated for our modern times. FRANCE 24’s Charli James and Dheepthika Laurent discuss the hottest TV series of the moment.
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