Closing a remarkable circle, TF1 espionage thriller “State of Alert,” starring legendary French singer-actor Patrick Bruel in his first major TV work, will world premiere March 27 at Series Mania.
The red carpet affair, featuring other cast and crew, will take place at the very same festival where Keshet Intl. head of drama Atar Dekel, having put through initial development, pitched the series as an Israeli project way back in 2018.
A fast-paced thriller set between Paris and the spectacular white-sand Negev Desert in Southern Israel, “State of Alert” kicks off with a taxi 43 kilometres outside Paris. Anatoly, a Russian journalist, is called on his cell-phone. When he answers, the taxi stops, on a railway crossing. The taxi doors lock, as a train thunders towards the car.
The assassination almost certainly involved software developed by Israeli intelligence services which can send a virus through a cell-phone call to take control of a car. Stolen, that software could be used on a larger target.
In three days time the U.S. president will be in Paris. Zeev Abadi, a legendary Israeli intelligence officer, is called back to work by Unit 8200, part of the Israeli army, and given 72 hours to get his hands on the traitor who stole is software. In Paris, he will work with Fleur Giroud, a French anti-terrorism cop played by Natacha Lindinger (Sam, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky) who is investigating a mysterious disappearance at Charles de Gaulle airport.
Based on Dov Alfon’s bestselling novel “A Long Night in Paris” (“Unité 8200”), which was optioned by Dekel, “State of Alert” is created by Leora Kamenetzky, a writer on “Fauda” and co-creator of “False Flag,” David Dusa (“Flowers of Evil,” “Amin”) and Negar Djavadi (“Jacqueline Sauvage,” “Mon Ange”), who also served as the series’ main writer.
Directed by Dan Sachar (“Line in the Sand”), “State of Alert” is produced by France’s Elephant International, behind major titles such as “Desperate Parents” and “The Intern,” for France Televisions and “Killer by the Lake” for TF1, and Keshet Intl. for TFI.
Newen Connect distributes the series internationally. “‘State of Alert’ is a powerful ticking clock spy thriller. With a talented production team behind it, an A-list show runner and a wonderful cast, it is exactly the third-party title Studio TF1 is proud to have in its catalogue. We are looking forward to showcasing this to buyers at Series Mania,” said Rodolphe Buet, Newen Content CEO.
Elephant’s Sandra Ouaiss produces while the series is executive produced by Keshet Media Group’s Avi Nir and Karni Ziv, alongside KI’s Keren Shahar and Atar Dekel.
“State of Alert” is expected to bow on TF1 before the end of 2015. Variety sat down with Ouaiss and Dekel, KI’s head of global drama and co-productions, before Series Mania to talk about one of TF1’s awaited series for 2025.
I sense how this series was put together says a lot about how Keshet builds products and also something about Elephant Intl. as well….
Atar Dekel: In general what we thrive on is to explore and expose Israeli storytelling in the global media industry. Keshet really got known for its English-language titles: “Homeland,” “The A-Word.” I was based in the U.S. briefly, then came back to Israel and decided that my remit should be to make sure we were a relevant player also in territories where we don’t have an office on the ground. Our kind of storytelling can still resonate with international audiences in non-English speaking territories, and there’s always been such a fruitful cultural exchange between Israel and France.
And when was that?
Dekel: In 2017. The novel “A Long Night in Paris” (“Unité 8200”) came out almost immediately. I felt it was a big piece of IP like what we’re known for and that the fact that it was set in Paris actually made it more appealing for me to pursue as Keshet. It’a an Israeli book, but the show has become predominantly a French show and French story. The whole process is very, very interesting and obviously took time but also feels seven years.
And when Sandra did you board “State of Alert”?
Sandra Ouaiss: In 2018. I was looking for projects to start with my new company Elephant International within Elephant Group.
I knew Atar. I really enjoyed working with her and her team. The series takes place in France and I liked the pitch and said to Atar, “I’m in.”
It was right around when “Fauda” was making a huge noise. Dekel: There was a real appetite for these types of shows. I think Sandra recognized the potential of it with the French elements. And she was spot on.
One key element is Leora Kamenetzky who pitched at Series Mania with you. How did David board the project?
Ouaiss: To further develop the bible after the Series Mania pitch, we decided to attach a French writer, though David is more than French, a bit Hungarian and speaks very good English. It was important to find a writer who could speak easily in English with the rest of the team and Leora.
And Negar Djavadi?
Ouaiss: She came in as the main French writer and in the end the series’ showrunner. David and Leora wrote first drafts of the first two episodes. When TF1 commissioned the rest of the series, we needed to have someone who knows well France, who can write about how the French police works. So I hired Negar to take over. Episode 1 and 2 were the basis of the Season. She rewrote them and wrote the rest of the episodes with the help of Bruno Fay, a journalist and writer she is used to collaborating with. We wanted to keep the tone which is very specific to that book, which very much reads like a graphic novel with larger than life characters. The hit woman, for example, adds almost like a fantasy layer to the series.
When I interviewed Ferdinand Dohna, Beta Film head of content & co-production, about Series Mania’s Seriesmakers, he suggested that, apart from crime, the other genre that always works in series are family relations, relational dramas, in a very large sense of a group of people that are strongly related. I suspect you strengthened the family relations of both Zeev Abadi and Fleur Giroud….
Ouaiss: Yes, in the novel, Abadi comes to Paris to visit his parents. Instead, we created his having a daughter in Paris. And we built everything around Fleur as well.
The Keshet model as you’ve said is to bring Israeli IP, creative talent and actors to the table and reach out to a co-producer. But when did you approach TF1?
Ouaiss: When I came on board, we redeveloped the Bible, after David worked on it with Leora, and we went with that to TF1.
TF1 liked the idea. They were interested in a premium series and interested in working with Keshet and the book was released in France became a big, big hit in France. With the scripts of the first two episodes, we went to market to find actors. TF1 said to us that maybe this is something that Patrick Bruel could love. We sent him the first two episodes. We weren’t expecting that much, but he loved them and wanted to be part of the show. So that changed game in terms of scale, ambition or budget or characters, probably everything.
Once you have such a big star attached and a star that has never done TV before in a lead role, this was such a big get for Sandra and her team which changed everything, and definitely reinforced Tf1’s commitment.
Ouaiss: Patrick learnt Hebrew. He talked a bit but his native language is French. The show was originally built as a 50/50 show but now became much more French than Israeli.
At the same time you hired as a director Dan Sachar who has risen in Keshet Intl. ranks. He did VFX on “When Heroes Fly” which won at the first Canneseries…
Dekel: He directed “Line in the Sand.” He comes from VFX, which is evident when you watch his achievements on this series. It really gives him the right tools to deal with a show pdf this scope. And it’s definitely someone that we groomed.
Ouaiss: It was important for us to have an Israeli director. After the series became more of a French show, it was still important for us to have an Israeli director because we didn’t want to tell what’s happening to the “Unit 8200” from a French point of view.
