Hot Picks: Maigret

This has been the year of the literary detective. Revamps, updates, origin stories – the TV industry has breathed new life into some of the book world’s most iconic sleuths over the past 12 months.

This reimagining of Maigret from Patrick Harbinson (Homeland; The Tower) aims to set itself apart as the first contemporary depiction of Georges Simenon’s classic Parisian detective.

Produced by Playground Entertainment – the indie behind forthcoming detective revamp Lynley for BBC1 and BritBox – the series features unconventional and youthful Chief Inspector Jules Maigret, (Belgravia’s Benjamin Wainwright), who heads the elite police unit ‘La Crim’, responsible for investigating all serious crime in and around Paris.

Unyielding in his approach, Maigret’s investigations take in many different spheres of contemporary Paris, from upper-class luxury to local bistros, all the way through to underground criminal hangouts.

The series was commissioned by PBS’s primetime drama strand Masterpiece, with Banijay Entertainment boarding as a partner. It is an example of what Matt Creasey, the super-indie’s US-based executive vice-president of sales, acquisitions and co-productions, calls the “new world of creative dealmaking to get shows made”.

For Creasey, what makes Maigret stand out amid the glut of drama remakes using established IP is the youth of the main character and the contemporary setting. And the fact that Simenon wrote 75 books about the detective means there is a “rich mine of stories” and “greater creative potential in terms of scripts” that have not yet been tapped.

“People aren’t creating remakes for the sake of them,” Creasey says. “In terms of formattable drama, it comes with a built-in set of storylines and characters that you can build on in the modern era.

“Also, there will be people who have not heard of Maigret, so to them it’s a new drama. And for those who do remember him, it’s a retelling in a contemporary setting.”

As a US commission from a UK indie with a British actor playing a French lead, the series has “got an international feel straight away”, Creasey adds. “It doesn’t feel distinctly British domestic. It has the British quality in the humour, so it’s not a US show that came to the UK and viceversa. Masterpiece is pretty much 90-95% British [drama] anyway.”

Masterpiece’s involvement is emblematic of “where the industry is currently sitting”, Creasey says.

“The sort of content Masterpiece really needs and wants, is that getting commissioned out of the UK quick enough?” he asks. “That idea of backing into the UK with a commission out of the US is something we’re going to see more and more of – different parties coming together to get it made.”

Banijay’s investment reflects a commitment to “always being on the hunt – with our own producers or externally – for a long-running detective series and what that looks like [in today’s market]”.

To that end, Creasey says, there are discussions with English buyers and the series will “come to the UK at some point and go internationally”.

European PSBs are an expected fit, alongside streamers in LatAm and Asia. Australia and New Zealand are also targets.