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As Episode 1 of "Culte" (2024 release from France; 6 episodes of about 45 min each) opens, we are in "December 2000" and the French TV production company PPP has received videotapes of a new type of show that is very successful in a number of European countries: reality TV show Big Brother. PPP is pitching the idea (now titled Loft Story) to M6, a smaller TV channel that is going up against TV-leading TF!. There is only 1 problem: M6 wants to start airing episodes in April, 2001, just 4 months away. At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this is a rollicking (and fictional) account of how reality TV came into being in France. Let me immediately question the title of this mini-series: "Cult" (in French: "Culte"). This is as misleading as I have ever seen. There is no Cult of any kind to be seen or heard in this mini-series. If anything, it should be called "On the cutting edge of TV" (reality TV did not exist in France before Big Brother). Episodes 1 and 2 are the least entertaining as it mostly deals with selecting candidates. Things get going for real in Episode 3 and then don't let up from there. The mini-series in super plot-heavy so the less said on that, the better. The events take place in late 2000/early 2001, and the production sets reflect that era quite well (you'll hear, for example, "Sing" by Travis playing in te background).

"Culte" started streaming on Amazon Prime very recently. I read about this mini-series in the New York Times and made a mental note to check it out. I'm glad I did. I watched 3 episodes on 2 consecutive nights, and can confirm this is very bingeable. As long are you are aware that this has nothing to do with being a "cult" but rather the birth of reality TV in France, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

I started the show out curiosity, as I experienced the release of Loft Story in France back then, so I was intrigued to see it reenacted in a series.

I really enjoyed the plot, how it gives an angle on the program in-between the audience, the production and the characters inside the loft (actually just Loana), with the impact and repercussions on every party.

I found this portrait of Loana smartly done, with some nice nuances, kudos to the actress. The rest of the cast is quite good too, I didn't find myself cringing at any moment, which is notable for me.

Maybe the show could have covered a bit more, but it definitely does a good job in only 6 episodes (which I binged)