Au service de la France

Not since Mel Brooks...Peter Sellers or even Allo Allo have I seen anything as well scripted and directed as good as this show...top of its class....i recommend you give it a look for yourself...brilliant...

Sadly, Americans can no longer do satire, as evidenced by the billions of sitcoms with wooden dialogue and lame in-jokes that have come and gone since the 1980s. I haven't laughed this hard in years! The authentic music, settings and clothing all help to set the stage for a truly hilarious cast of characters as they poke fun at career bureaucrats, the French colonial mindset and Franco-German relations, to name but a few.

This Netflix Original production is a send-up of the French secret service, French bureaucracy, French colonialism and numerous other aspects of things stereotyped as French. It is brilliantly written, directed and acted. I find myself frequently laughing out loud.

A show like this could quickly devolve into being played too broadly (think of "Get Smart") but this one doesn't. It maintains its edge by keeping a wry seriousness hand-in-hand with its lunacy. There are times when the show is even somewhat dark but it never loses its comic heart.

There is only one season (2015) playing on Netflix streaming video at this time. I don't know if they made a second season, but I hope so!

In French with English subtitles.

Season 1 - This is the best of the two seasons. You're introduced to the show's dry humour and wit. Similar to several period shows like Downton Abbey or Mad Men, the show uses real life incidents as a background. Near the end of a season, a conspiracy-like sub-plot will emerge but will leave several questions on your mind. Season 1 - 10/10

Season 2 - A few episodes seem rather slow but the show does something incredible - it upgrades several female characters and gives them a third dimension. Especially, Marie-Jo (played by the graceful Marie-Julie Baup) is perhaps the best Season 2 character. This season can also be called the "Season of Breakups" as every main character deals with heartbreak. The sub-plot that began in Season 1 becomes the main plot of Season 2 and this takes all the agents to Moscow, Berlin and finally, Algeria. Season 2 - 8/10 (if a few episodes were faster, I would have given this a 10 too)

A French agent drama set in the early sixties with a backdrop of actual historical events, in this case the cold war and Algerian liberation war. It is very enjoyable to watch, it is a very French kind of jargon and humour and I would describe it as a mix of Peter Sellers and Jaques Tati. At moments it is absolutely brilliant and hilarious.

The recreation of the 60s atmosphere is great and everything oozes a high class production. Mad Men in a French setting.

It is a funny comedy, no gore or explicit violence, that will keep you smiling and wanting more. Each episode is pretty short circa 25 min so it is perfectly digestible in chunks now and then.

A series that deserves much more attention. A hidden gem.

Very recommended watch if you are looking for an intelligent comedy