Why are journalistic investigations inspiring more and more series?

• Shonda Rhimes co-wrote her new series,

  Inventing Anna

  , available on Netflix, with journalist Jessica Pressler.

• The story told by the series is adapted from an article by Jessica Pressler that appeared in

  New York Magazine

  .

• Why are more and more series inspired by press articles?

  Response with Franck Annese, the boss of So Press and Pierre Boisson, one of the four writers behind the investigation into Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, currently being adapted into a series.

We no longer count the plots of series inspired by a true story.

In

, available on Netflix since Friday, the ex-star of

Anna Chlumsky embodies Vivian Kent, a journalist in search of a good story, who will be interested in Anna Delvey, a young Russian woman who defrauded young high-society New Yorkers.

Vivian Kent is a character inspired by

reporter Jessica Pressler, whose article "How Anna Delvey Tricked New York's Party People?" of this new series that she co-signs with superstar producer Shonda Rhimes (

).

Why are journalistic investigations inspiring more and more series?

Miscellaneous facts have always inspired fiction.

In the early 1930s, the filmmaker Fritz Lang was inspired by the case of Peter Kürten, nicknamed the vampire of Düsseldorf, for

In 1976, Alan J. Pakula adapted for the big screen the book by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein published in 1974 for

.

Press articles, material for fiction

A new development in the field of television series, the press article from which the story told in the fiction is inspired is mentioned in the credits and the journalist who carried out the investigation often participates in writing the script.

Pam & Tommy

, available on Disney+, is the adaptation of a press article, signed by Amanda Chicago Lewis, published on December 22, 2014 in the columns of the American magazine

.

Dr Death

, available on Starzplay, is based on an investigation initially transcribed in the form of a podcast of the same name, the French version of which is called Dr LaMort, which relates the case of Christopher Duntsch, a malicious surgeon who has done more than thirty victims, including two dead.

Home Before Dark

, available on Apple TV+, is a series loosely inspired by the life and investigations of Hilde Lisiak, the youngest member of the American Society of Professional Journalists.

Unbelievable

, available on Netflix, is the adaptation of a journalistic investigation, published in 2015 and crowned with the Pulitzer Prize, retracing the investigations carried out by two detectives from Colorado in 2011. The award-winning journalists have also worked as consultants on the scenario of the series, very faithful to reality.

Dirty John

, which follows the story of sociopath John Meehan, was originally told in a podcast by a

And

, a series carried by Elle Fanning, to be discovered soon on Starzplay, will be the adaptation of an article by Jesse Barron, published in

.

Society

is preparing the adaptation of its successful investigation of Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès.

So Press, the magazine's publisher, has signed a partnership with Federation Entertainment in order to co-finance and screen future investigations.

"The deal we made with Federation is a first, no one had done this in France before and no one since I believe", comments Franck Annese, the boss of So Press

Streaming platforms, short of good stories

Why do so many journalistic investigations end up on our small screens?

“There is a real appetite on the platforms for this kind of story and the current volume of production requires a lot of stories.

And the best way to find them is still to look where they exist, that is to say in reality”, analyzes Pierre Boisson, one of the four writers behind the investigation of Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès in

magazine .

And to remember: “All the great non-fiction stories generally give good adaptations, because they are good stories.

»

Another reason given by the journalist, “long-term non-fiction articles have more resonance and find more support in the press.

They were a moment in disuse and are now upgraded.

This gives material to fictions since they are detailed articles in which the information is approached in a totally different way.

»

Another advantage for producers of fiction, an investigation carried out by experienced journalists, "these are higher costs than the development costs of an original scenario sometimes", notes Franck Annese again.

Journalists, potential screenwriters

Journalists are increasingly being asked to pay attention not only to facts, but also to “storytelling”, that is to say the way of telling the stories they report.

A journalistic culture very present in the American media and in certain magazines in France, which adopt long-term formats like at So Press.

“There is information and journalistic rigour, but what we like to do is tell stories.

When we wrote the article on Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, all the questions we ask ourselves today about the screenplay are questions around which we have already asked ourselves, even if that does not mean that we will solve them in the same way for a TV fiction”, explains Pierre Boisson, who was quite naturally chosen to adapt his investigation for the small screen with a co-screenwriter.

"We save time, quality, intelligence of the story by relying on the person who carried out the investigation", believes Franck Annese.

For the journalist turned screenwriter, the work of adaptation for the small screen is based on the "same springs of narration".

“In the matrix of journalists at So Press, there is a propensity to think about story, story, characters and springs that we use in the scenarios.

So it's quite natural, ”adds Franck Annese.

Many journalists have become screenwriters.

Before creating

or

, David Simon spent twelve years in the editorial staff of the

Sun.

"He did not leave one camp for another, the two camps are reconcilable", comments Pierre Boisson.

“We remained journalists in our veins and our souls.

It is a sacred profession, we miss it every day.

What we want by making fiction is to get a wider audience and in a more emotional way than with a documentary, ”confided to

screenwriters and former journalists Ron Leshem (

) and Amit Cohen (

), on the occasion of the launch of their

series on Arte.

The truth, cornerstone of the fiction of the real

What interest to see a fiction on a journalistic investigation that we already know?

“The same story can be told in two different ways and both be as exciting as the other,” rejoices Pierre Boisson.

And to add: “In a television format, the story is more embodied, suddenly, we will live the story more through the characters than by reading an investigation.

“We can also put things that are true and that we could not put in the investigation,” adds Franck Annese.

Fiction inspired by real history also poses problems that classic fiction does not.

At Séries Mania, the great reporter Florence Aubenas, warned about the fiction of TF1 Une Affaire française: “The intentions must be very clearly displayed.

Yes, it's the Gregory affair, no, it's not the Gregory affair.

Often, we take true stories where there is also an issue of innocence and guilt, legal issues.

This is not to be joked about.

We talk about real people, legal status, "are we guilty or innocent?"

There, there must be fairly clearly drawn red lines.

»

When we rely on real people and facts, "we can't invent everything and anything about our characters", agrees Franck Annese.

There remains another challenge for these fictions of reality: "Guarantee the best fiction possible", concludes the boss of So Press.

Series

“Pam & Tommy”: Say grandpa, why did Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's sex tape shake the world?

Series

“Normal People”, “Starstruck”… Seven series to watch for a good Valentine’s Day

• Series

• Hurry

• Journalism

• Journalist

• netflix

• 0 comment

• 0 share

  • Share on Messenger

  • Share on Facebook

  • Share on Twitter

  • Share on Flipboard

  • Share on Pinterest

  • Share on Linkedin

  • Send by Mail

• To safeguard

• A fault ?

• To print