En thérapie

Absolutley love this show.

Its on tv here in Australia (SBS). Its so well written, the acting is world class, and Mélanie Thierry has real spark. She could become France's Cate Blanchett, she is that good.

The first season is absolutely great because of the circumstances (Bataclan) and the relationships between some of the characters. Unfortunately, the second season can't quite keep up the high standard due to the less interesting characters and the annoying Covid environment. Nevertheless, the series is absolutely worth watching and something different.

This is my absolute favourite show on Australian television. There is so much depth in the episodes that I have watched each one of them at least twice. Plus the acting is superb. I love them all, but if I have to nominate the one I like best, I'd have to say it is Adel Chaban, his story is particularly harrowing and Reda Kateb is magnificent. Frederick Pierrot as the psychoanalyst is so believable. One seldom sees so starkly the baggage that a therapist can bring into the consultation room and how it can colour the way he deals with his patients. Can't wait for Season 2 to get going on our screens.

I am a huge fan of the Romanian adaptation, called "In deriva" (meaning "Adrift"), which was produced by HBO Europe. It is a very humble, subtle, complex, human, touching and credible adaptation, played to perfection by fantastic actors. In short, everything this French adaptation is, absolutely, not. Both share the same character "archetypes" but this one is badly written, overplayed, ridiculous and pretentious. All the dialogues, attitudes and interactions between the characters feel fake and forced, like a very bad play, not to say stupid and often even completely meaningless. It's absolutely painful to watch and I don't understand how this can be rated so well as I really can't find anything good in it.

I didn't want this series to end. It was intelligent, relevant and the acting superb. Rarely is dialogue so credible and at the same time, insightful. Each episode is a session with one of the characters so there is little action - this show is a quiet examination of people's stories.

PS How refreshing to see 'real' people on the screen, ie normal looking, instead of the usual Hollywood types.