At 16, “Plus belle la vie” is transformed without touching the fundamentals

On the set of "Plus belle la vie" in September 2020 -

• New credits, reincarnation of the Place du Mistral, return of former emblematic characters ... For several weeks,

  Plus Belle La Vie

  has been undergoing an in-depth makeover.

• The operation aims to regain a real neighborhood spirit for this series which has been on the air more than 250 days a year for sixteen seasons.

• Géraldine Gendre, producer of the soap opera, looks back on this new breath and the challenges that follow.

New look for a new 

.

Three months ago, the series of France 3 is adorned with its finery with a new credits.

That was the tip of the iceberg.

But behind the scenes, deeper changes were taking place, smoothly, to breathe new life into the oldest daily soap opera on French television.

Objective: to reincarnate the Place du Mistral while shaking up the fundamentals of the program a little.

Winks to the good old days

Last October, what was the surprise of the most unconditional fans of

.

After fourteen years of absence, the character of François Marci made his comeback, he who we saw in the very first scene of the very first episode broadcast in 2004. A comeback that sounded like a wink to anchor this return to the origins of the series and launch this renewal by applying the right recipe: the best bouillabaisse is made in old pots.

The formula was also applied again a few days later with another reappearance, that of Dr. Livia, the greatest psychopath in the history of the series, who came to haunt the residents of the neighborhood in 2005 and 2006. Fourteen years later , he has less hair, he is still in prison but he is still so petrified.

“We don't want to bring back characters just to bring them back but to breathe something in,” explains producer Geraldine Gendre at

.

The idea is not to limit oneself to the fundamentals of

but to pimp them a little and come back to what viewers expect.

"

The Mistral, main character

In addition to these unexpected returns, the desire of the producer, who arrived at the head of the series a year ago, is to offer new perspectives to the characters who have been living in the same settings for all these years.

The idea is then to “give new life to this district, to this place which is one of our main characters.

Recently, we then see some protagonists looking out of their living room window, passing each other in the morning before going to college or even pushing open the door of their building.

"It's the desire to reincarnate and recreate a real neighborhood life", summarizes the producer.

"But how much time do they spend at the bar on this show?"

These are the kinds of questions viewers shouldn't be asking themselves anymore.

Rather than being leaned on the counter with a little black, the inhabitants of the Mistral should be less static and avoid chatting only in front of the hotel or comfortably installed on a bench.

This reincarnation of the Mistral theater and the adjustments that go with it will make it possible to "return to fundamentals from which we have unwittingly deviated", summarizes Géraldine Gendre.

These small, smooth changes could be a response to the criticisms that are being heard around the purring rhythm of the series.

“We still have the impression that we are an old series.

No, we are a series that lasts, ”replies the producer.

Moreover, the scriptwriting and artistic attempts around the characters and their environment represent a work of perpetual reflection.

Soon, the soap opera will lift the veil on new settings.

A complete overhaul of the Place du Mistral?

A new business opening up?

We will not know more for now ...

Three million Mistralians.

And me and me and me.

Since the start of the school year, around three million faithful follow

day.

A score in decline for several years which contrasts with the almost Olympic form of its competitors

,

, and the last arrival

.

Let us not forget to add to this figure an average of 700,000 additional fans who catch up with the episodes in replay or… illegally!

An impressive number on which the series can not however afford to communicate without promoting piracy.

In its desire "to be in the sharing", the production and France 3 have made the choice, unlike TF1 and France 2, to continue the broadcast of the series in March, at a time when the news around of Covid-19 was resounding.

But when the stock of unreleased episodes ran dry, it was decided to move on with the replay of a 2015 plot. “Looking back, replaying might not have been the best idea ever. .

Maybe we should have generated, from a marketing point of view and less emotionally, a feeling of lack, of expectation?

“Asks the producer.

And yet, after sixteen years, the Mistral bar is still there.

A sign that the channel is counting on it more than ever, the series has even been extended for another five years.

“In front of us, we have news which has 13 million viewers and which are longer, comments Géraldine Gendre. 

, it's a bit Asterix, we are part of the heritage.

" 

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