Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max platform has unveiled its first French originals slate ahead of its launch in the country this summer.
Max has just kicked off production for crime actioner Western Malditos set in the Gypsy community of Southern France. The series is produced by Eve Muller Noor Sadar of Mediawan’s White Lion Films and follows two brothers and mother as they fight to keep a dark secret from destroying their legacy.
It has also greenlit an adaptation of French female rabbi Delphine Horvielleur’s best-seller Living With Our Dead (Vivre Avec Nos Morts) that follows a young rabbi as she navigates the pressure of guiding people through key life questions. The comedy drama is produced by Fédération Studios,and adapted by Noé Debré and Benjamin Charbit.
Max also unveiled the title and more details of its previously announced series inspired by a true story about a woman who cons her way into a victims’ association following the deadly attack at the Bataclan concert in November of 2015 starring Laure Calamy. Black Lies (Une Amie Dévouée) will be directed by Just Philippot and will co-star César-winning The Goldman Case actor Arieh Worthalter alongside Les Misérables’ Alexis Manenti and Mother And Son’s Annabelle Lengronne.
Max will offer the French originals alongside content from Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio slate and its global networks that include CNN, Discovery Channel and Cartoon Network.
The company has yet to reveal the exact date of the official launch of Max in the territory. JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games at Warner Bros. Discovery, will reveal those details during his closing keynote at Series Mania Forum on Thursday (March 21).
Speaking ahead of a Series Mania showcase for Max France, Clément Schwebig, president of Warner Bros Discovery Western Europe & Africa, told Screen the streamer’s French audiovisual content will be a blend of both acquisitions for local audiences and French-language originals that they will produce and own and will roll out worldwide.
Schwebig called the platform “a destination for our vast Warner Bros. catalogue” blending global IP with “specific French content for French audiences”.
Vera Peltekian, VP of original production for Max France, said the company’s editorial strategy for its local originals is to produce titles that are “universal, unique and timeless”.
Clémentine Bobin, director of scripted original production for Max France, added, “We are targeting an adult audience with bold series that are director and author driven.”
Films
Schwebig also detailed the studio’s local plans for its features arm which has funded more than 100 films in France including recent hits including Simone: Woman Of A Century and The President’s Wife.
“What is exciting with our original films is that we at Warner Bros. have been financing and producing French movies for decades…We want to continue doing that and Max should be the home for this type of film.”
Any Warner Bros film that is released theatrically in France, however, must wait 17 months before it can stream on Max.
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