Le Bureau des Légendes

This series, the second season especially, seems almost perfectly made. It is much in little in every scene, and it makes haste slowly. Intellectually and emotionally satisfying, the writing, the acting, and the filming rarely make a false move. Rarely, because the scenes of the prime spy's writing alone, shirtless, at his desk, in voice-over, strike me as unnecessary, and the American CIA chief, who was so good in "Friday Night Lights," is made to play here as if he were an Anglophile precisian: it doesn't come off. The immediate superior of the main spy plays his part brilliantly, and there isn't a weak actor in the French cast and Middle Eastern cast. So many details are funny and telling at the same time, and yet never detract from the wide scope and long narrative of the series. Nor does the Syrian connection, seeming to come right out of the headlines or even ahead of them, hurt. This is yet another series that makes so many feature films seem a waste of time and money.

I cannot praise this show enough. I agree with other reviewers on the high bar this show sets for the genre. It is the French Homeland, but more credible, low-keyed and deeper.

Everything distills quality here: a really, really superb script which is intelligent, sensible and gripping to the end; extraordinary characterisation and performances from the main to the last character; tremendous production and attention to detail; credible information about the metier; an impeccable direction which keeps extreme suspense and intrigue, only without the flamboyant, explosive special effects so inevitable in American series, but it is still very action- and field-oriented.

Season 4 is really fantastic, it has not decayed in the least. The addition of Mathieu Amalric makes an extra bonus, with the talent he brings to fore in every performance. Marie-Jeanne acquires more weight in the show in the most positive sense. Florence Loiret Caille is such a superb, nuanced actress! And the priceless Kassowits recreates his complex Malotru, the antihero always full of surprises which you respect, admire and love as the seasons go by. He is the perfect spinal cord for the show.

In short, this is the most exciting show in the year. I really hope it will maintain the high quality and the cast in years to come, to the delight of all the genre lovers. Kudos to everyone involved in the production!

The reviews I've read here about Canal+'s 'Le Bureau Des Legendes' seem to cover it. I'd only add that its more nuanced non-sensationalist approach works better than many similar political-spy dramas I've seen recently. The apparently ordinary people working out of an office go about their everyday lives as extraordinary events unfold around them. Eric Rochant's series builds the tension gradually, which gives the big 'moments' greater impact. And at the heart of things is a beautiful love story, of course! Don't know how accurate 'Le Bureau' is as regards DGSE and the French intelligence network it portrays, but found it credible and gripping as a series. Still can't find it in myself to award it a '10' (think it would have to be in my native English so I could follow all the verbal stuff to do that), but I'm certainly looking forward to more of 'Le Bureau Des Legendes' (they're making a 4th season, right?).

When you know about the quality of the cast, the track record of the director/creator, and that the French intelligence services and former spooks contributed to the scenario, expectations run high for this series.

When you realise that it is embedded in reality and about the work of intelligence services, namely gathering and analysing information, for which the tools are brains, psychology, assets, emotions, manipulation, trading, disinformation, treachery, cyber war-fare, and other skillsets, that it's not glamorous, and that it's far less about big weapons than being able to put 2 and 2 together and making sense of constantly shifting sands and highly fluid situations, based upon which political and military decisions are made, then you know that you are onto a treat.

And, what a treat! Suspence, twists and turns, moving parts that don't always come together; all of this and plenty more are delivered, and keep you on the edge of your seat.

This is not James Bond or Jason Bourne, far from it. This is about the fastidious and ungrateful, yet highly dangerous and stressful jobs of those people evolving in the murky waters of the intelligence world. Not all saints, not all sinners, often both, and always faced with difficult decisions and their ensuing consequences, not the least guilt and sadness.

And, because intelligence officers and agents remain human after all, portraying their emotions and vulnerabilities so vividly by digging deep into their characters makes this series as real and raw as it gets.

P.S.: Watching it in its original version with subtitles in your language will take you one step closer to the action.

the plot, characters, scenes, stories, side stories are fantastic, realistic and believable. Nothing over the top and nothing underwhelming. only thing i wanted when it was finished was another season. most foreign language shows don't keep me in the zone (binge worthy) due to having to read subs, but i couldn't stop loading episode after episode. i did wish there was a little more action but totally unnecessary. don't hesitate to watch this, you won't be let down.