| Baron Noir | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Political drama |
| Written by | Eric Benzekri Jean-Baptiste Delafon |
| Directed by | Ziad Doueiri Antoine Chevrollier |
| Starring | Kad Merad Niels Arestrup Anna Mouglalis Hugo Becker Astrid Whettnall |
| Composer | Evgueni & Sacha Galperine |
| Country of origin | France |
| Original language | French |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 24(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer | Thomas Bourguignon |
| Cinematography | Tommaso Fiorilli |
| Editors | Sarah Anderson Camille Toubkis |
| Running time | 52-55 minutes |
| Production company | Kwaï |
| Original release | |
| Network | Canal+ |
| Release | 8 February 2016 (2016-02-08) – 2 March 2020 (2020-03-02) |
Baron Noir (screened as Republican Gangsters in some markets) is a French political drama television series which premiered on Canal+ on 8 February 2016. The series was developed by Eric Benzekri and Jean-Baptiste Delafon.
Baron Noir is the political and judicial saga of Philippe Rickwaert, member of Parliament and mayor of Dunkerque, who is driven by an irrepressible thirst for personal revenge. Between rounds of the presidential election, he sees his future collapse when his mentor, the leftist candidate, sacrifices him to save his campaign. Determined to reinvent his career, Rickwaert uses cunning and connections to win political fights against those who betrayed him, creating a new alliance with the closest adviser of his enemy. Formidable but uncontrollable, conflicted between truth and lies, cultivating friendships in all strata of society (including within the police and organized crime), Philippe Rickwaert's life dissolves into a fascinating organised chaos. Rickwaert takes the fight to his opponents - and to his own demons - at every opportunity.
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 8 | February 8, 2016 (2016-02-08) | February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29) | |
| 2 | 8 | February 22, 2018 (2018-02-22) | February 12, 2018 (2018-02-12) | |
| 3 | 8 | February 10, 2020 (2020-02-10) | March 2, 2020 (2020-03-02) | |
| No. overall | No.in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | France viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Jupiter" | Unknown | Unknown | February 8, 2016 (2016-02-08) | N/A |
| 2 | 2 | "1932" | Unknown | Unknown | February 8, 2016 (2016-02-08) | N/A |
| 3 | 3 | "Solférino" | Unknown | Unknown | February 15, 2016 (2016-02-15) | N/A |
| 4 | 4 | "Bleu" | Unknown | Unknown | February 15, 2016 (2016-02-15) | N/A |
| 5 | 5 | "Grenelle" | Unknown | Unknown | February 22, 2016 (2016-02-22) | N/A |
| 6 | 6 | "Shutdown" | Unknown | Unknown | February 22, 2016 (2016-02-22) | N/A |
| 7 | 7 | "Pianoforte" | Unknown | Unknown | February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29) | N/A |
| 8 | 8 | "Pardon" | Unknown | Unknown | February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29) | N/A |
| No. overall | No.in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | France viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "Twins" | Unknown | Unknown | January 22, 2018 (2018-01-22) | N/A |
| 10 | 2 | "Tourniquet" | Unknown | Unknown | January 22, 2018 (2018-01-22) | N/A |
| 11 | 3 | "Haram" | Unknown | Unknown | January 29, 2018 (2018-01-29) | N/A |
| 12 | 4 | "Conversion" | Unknown | Unknown | January 29, 2018 (2018-01-29) | N/A |
| 13 | 5 | "Chouquette" | Unknown | Unknown | February 5, 2018 (2018-02-05) | N/A |
| 14 | 6 | "Remontada" | Unknown | Unknown | February 5, 2018 (2018-02-05) | N/A |
| 15 | 7 | "Diprotodon" | Unknown | Unknown | February 12, 2018 (2018-02-12) | N/A |
| 16 | 8 | "Sorpasso" | Unknown | Unknown | February 12, 2018 (2018-02-12) | N/A |
| No. overall | No.in season | Title [1] | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [1] | France viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 1 | "Check up" | Unknown | Unknown | February 10, 2020 (2020-02-10) | N/A |
| 18 | 2 | "Diaspora" | Unknown | Unknown | February 10, 2020 (2020-02-10) | N/A |
| 19 | 3 | "#MeToo" | Unknown | Unknown | February 17, 2020 (2020-02-17) | N/A |
| 20 | 4 | "Inventaire" | Unknown | Unknown | February 17, 2020 (2020-02-17) | N/A |
| 21 | 5 | "Satanas" | Unknown | Unknown | February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24) | N/A |
| 22 | 6 | "Oui" | Unknown | Unknown | February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24) | N/A |
| 23 | 7 | "Brüder" | Unknown | Unknown | March 2, 2020 (2020-03-02) | N/A |
| 24 | 8 | "Ahou!" | Unknown | Unknown | March 2, 2020 (2020-03-02) | N/A |
On 29 February 2016, Eric Benzekri, the writer of the series announced that the season 2 will be shot during the next presidential and it was aired in 2018.[2] Season 3 debuted in February 2020.[3]
The TV Series was very well received by French critics.[4] Le Monde, L'Obs, Les Inrockuptibles, Metro International, Paris Match and Télérama gave the first season 4 out of 5 stars.[5][6][7][8][9][10] L'Express and Libération gave 3.5 out of 5 stars.[11][12]
| Year | Awards | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | ACS Award | Best TV Series | Canal+ | Nominated |
| Best Writer | Eric Benzekri & Jean-Baptiste Delafon | Nominated | ||
| Best Director | Ziad Doueiri | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Niels Arestrup | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Kad Merad | Won | ||
| Best Actress | Anna Mouglalis | Nominated | ||
| Best Production | Kwaï | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | Globes de Cristal Award | Best TV Series | Eric Benzekri & Jean-Baptiste Delafon | Nominated |
| Trophées du Film Français | Best Writer-Producer | Thomas Bourguignon, Eric Benzekri & Jean-Baptiste Delafon | Won | |
| 45th International Emmy Awards | Best Actor | Kad Merad | Nominated |
