A new fiction to discover on TF1. This September 29, the channel invites viewers to discover Syndrome E, a new detective mini-series broadcast at 9:10 p.m. Directed by Laure de Butler (to whom we owe La Promise) and produced by Escazal Films, this six-episode soap opera is based on Franck Thilliez’s bestseller.
Published in 2010 by Editions Fleuve Noir, the thriller Syndrome E has sold more than 7 million books in bookstores. A literary success brought to the screen that should appeal to fans of fiction, bringing together two protagonists of the saga. On one side is Franck Sharko, a gruff, lonely police commissioner and father of a teenage daughter. On the other, Lucie Hennebelle, an inspector and single mother.
While Commander Sharko works on an investigation where children mysteriously disappear, an old film from the 1960s provokes strange and dangerous behavior in those who watch it. A disturbing phenomenon for the police lieutenant who understands that her past could be linked to the Sharko case. One night, when she discovers the corpse of a friend who has been murdered, Lucie begins to cry blood. Then begins an affair between the two heroes which promises to be under tension…
But what does thriller master Franck Thilliez think of the TV series? “Making an adaptation is always tricky, especially since Syndrome E features important characters for me and my readers. They are very demanding about what they imagine, but I’m confident”, explains the writer for TF1 . Presented to the public during the Series Mania festival in 2022, Syndrome E seems to have been a great success. It is not the writer from Lille who will say the opposite. “As an author, I really liked the series! Visually, it is very beautiful; the investigation is gripping and the characters are strong”.
To embody the main characters of Syndrome E, the choice turned to a famous actor and a theater actress. Jennifer Decker plays the role of Lieutenant Lucie Hennebelle while Vincent Elbaz plays Commander Franck Sharko. “This role is a huge gift,” says the actor in Le Parisien. “Sharko has heartbreaking flaws. He lives with his ghosts. He has secrets, mysteries. He is attracted to evil, likes gloomy investigations”.
Also in the cast of the panting thriller from TF1, viewers will find some of the leading faces of the small screen. Like Emmanuelle Béart, who is making her big comeback in a television series, actress Bérangère Krief, Michèle Bernier (seen in Le Mystère Daval). Or Richard Bohringer, Kool Shen, Dominique Blanc, Anne Charrier, Samy Seghir and Marius Colucci.
The filming of Syndrome E took place for six months, between May 10 to October 7, 2021, as indicated in a press release from the channel. This police soap opera adapted from the dark novel by Franck Thilliez was shot between Paris and Ile-de-France (from Yvelines to Val-d’Oise), but also in Morocco (where the first episode of the series starts) and in Canada.
From investigation to science fiction, nothing has been left to chance to convey the atmosphere of the series on screen. The author Franck Thilliez also had the opportunity to slip behind the scenes of the shooting, as he told for TF1. “This visit was a very emotional moment for me. When I saw Vincent Elbaz in the skin of Sharko, I immediately thought that it worked well. Jennifer Decker also corresponds to the character. They form a beautiful couple” , before adding. “More generally, the group of cops as a whole is cohesive. They are not just heroes carrying out an investigation, they all have a place”. A detective thriller to discover this fall every Thursday evening on TF1.