Although US TV series invade programs all over the world, Americans aren’t the only ones to create good quality TV shows. France has created some very successful TV series that inspired foreign broadcasters to adapt them. And some might surprise you!
Did you know that the French TV series « Fais pas çi, fais pas ça », released in 2007, depicts the everyday life of two families in a mock reality-show format? In 2008, the American TV network ABC had purchased an option to adapt the show for the US public. However, the project didn’t go through. Surprisingly enough, in 2009, Modern Family hit the small screen and was a huge success. It bears several strong similarities that would naturally lead some to think that it was heavily inspired by the French original format. It was, of course, never confirmed. From a bicultural and bilingual perspective, I must say that it is absolutely fascinating to compare the two and spot the differences in the way families are perceived and portrayed in the media. It reveals a great deal about culture, society, as well as local/national hot topics.
Want to see for yourself? Find below the first few minutes of the French pilot which aired in 2007.
Another French TV series was also a huge hit worldwide. It is called « Caméra Café », a comedy filmed in short episodes of a few minutes only. Reminiscent of The Office, it depicts the crazy days of hilarious, colourful employees getting together at the coffee machine to gossip and plot mischiefs.
It was adapted and localised in numerous countries globally, including Spain, Canada, Italy, Greece, among many others.
Want to try and understand the French humour? Give it a go!
Do you want to (re)discover King Arthur in a very comical, hilarious, ironical way? You would be thrilled to binge-watch Kaamelott. This excellent TV series was sold to broadcasters in Québec and Poland.
Many other successful TV series caught the eye of broadcasters overseas, like « Joséphine ange gardien », « Les Revenants », « Braquo », « Mafiosa », « Engrenages » and « Les hommes de l’ombre », among so many others.
French creativity is in full swing, « Cocorico » as we would proudly say in such circumstances!
informational, promotional, commercial. Depending on the aim and scope of the material, a translator has to apply the proper strategy to ensure that it has the same effect on the target audience as the source text did on the original audience. And in order to achieve just that, there is no such thing as a standard procedure; and the exact purpose of the communication strategy has to be clearly established by the client so that the translator can take the proper decisions. He/she may need to adapt/localise the text – changing currencies, dates, the measurement system (metric, imperial) – but also ensure the proper tone is applied (depending on the target culture, the source text may be considered too straightforward and aggressive, requiring an important stylistic realignement).
Caroline Crépu : Traductrice juridique et commerciale / Business & Legal Translator 