Renowned French actor and singer Patrick Bruel is making his TV debut in a leading role as a revered secret agent in “State of Alert,” a geopolitical thriller set in Paris.
The thriller, based on Dov Alfon’s bestselling novel “A Long Night in Paris” (“Unité 8200”), was produced by Elephant International with Keshet International (“Rough Diamonds”).
Slated to premiere later this year on TF1, “State of Alert” was directed by Dan Sachar, who notably worked as a second unit director on 36 episodes of “Fauda,” and co-directed episodes of “Tehran.”
Striking a similar chord as Netflix’s “Zero Day” with its timely techno plot and geo-political themes, “State of Alert” sees Bruel playing Israeli spy Zeey Abadi who travels to Paris for a tech summit where he embarks on an unexpected investigation to connect the dots between stolen software, the death of a Russian journalist and a mysterious disappearance three days before the visit of a high-ranking Israeli official in the French capital. The race-against-the-clock mission reunites him with an old love, Fleur Giroud (Natacha Lindinger, “Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky”), a French anti-terrorism cop and single mom whose personal life is threatened throughout the investigation.
Alfon, the author of “A Long Night in Paris,” previously worked for the Israeli secret services and is now the editor-in-chief of Liberation, a major French newspaper.
Since rising to fame in the 1990s, Bruel has become one of France’s best-known performers. He’s recorded 11 solo albums and still performs live at packed concerts around the world while leading an acting career. While he’s played in more than 47 films, notably “What’s in the Name,” which earned him a Cesar nomination, “State of Alert” marks his first leading role in a TV series. Speaking to Variety on the eve of Series Mania, Bruel said the project compelled him on many levels.
“Playing a secret agent in an international thriller was fun and it’s the kind of role that made me dream when I was a kid and would watch movies,” says Bruel. “I felt very lucky to be offered this part of Zeey Abadi because there is an emotional layer and a depth that makes him more than a stereotypical action heroes and we can see him evolving through his relationship with (the French cop), Fleur.”
Bruel praised the topnotch creative team behind the series – co-creator Leora Kamenetzky (“False Flag”), David Dusa (“Flowers of Evil”) and Negar Djavadi (“Mon Ange”) – for expanding the plot and characters beyond what was in Alfon’s book and building the narrative arc around his and Lindinger’s characters.
“There is action and suspense but there’s also nice balance with this touching story between Zeey and Fleur,” he says. “My character is not a warrior, he’s not a sniper, he’s just a guy who has a speed of analysis and adaptation that are a little above average, and it affects all his relationships. At the start of the series he’s pretty closed off, cold, and then warms up.”
Bruel says he found Sashar “impressive.” “He directed two seasons of ‘Tehran,’ one of my favorite series, so you can imagine the pace and precision of his way of working,” he says. “He was open to listening to Natasha’s and my suggestions but ultimately he knew exactly what he wanted.” He says that while “there is no fundamental difference between the work of actors on a film or TV series, what differs is that “we don’t have the luxury of doing 15 takes or redoing the script on set.” Sachar’s artistic approach demanded a “heightened sense of presence where every moment, ever take could be crucial,” Bruel observes.
Bruel also learned to speak fluent Hebrew for the role in “State of Alert.” “I knew a few basics, but I was far from fluent. I worked with a coach. It was a lot of work actually to get the accent right and also learn to speak fast because it’s a language that has to be spoken very quickly.” The actor, who’s already bilingual in Spanish and English, previously perfected his Italian to star in Sebastiano Riso’s drama “Una famiglia” and starred in Amanda Sthers’s English-language film “Holy Lands” with James Caan and Tom Hollander.
The series shot between August and November mainly in Paris and was meant to shoot some scenes in Israel but relocated the filming to Greece due to the Oct. 7 attack in Southern Israel. Bruel said the tragic events were “extremely painful” to process but didn’t impact the bonds that had been created between French and Israeli talent on set.
“There was a sort of mandate that if there were to be any discussions surrounding (the events in Israel) it would have to take place before and after we came on set so that filming would remain as it was supposed to be,” he says, adding that it also helped that the subject of “State of Alert” had “nothing to do with that situation in israel.”
“State of Alert” is part of TF1’s strategy to develop ambitious international sales. Elephant’s Sandra Ouaiss produced the series while Keshet Media Group’s Avi Nir and Karni Ziv executive produced alongside Keshet International’s Keren Shahar and Atar Dekel. Bruel and Lindinger star alongside a high-profile global cast, including Gaïa Weiss (“Vikings,” “Alien: Containment”), Cyril Guei (“Hitman”) and Tsahi Halevi (“Line in the Sand,” “Fauda”).
“State of Alert” will world premiere at Series Mania on March 27 and will be attended by Bruel as well as other cast and crew members. Newen Connect is distributing the series internationally.
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