TF1 Remake for Marcella

Elephant is to produce a French adaptation of the hit thriller Marcella for TF1, following a deal with Cineflix Rights.

The local adaptation, Rebecca, is directed by Didier Le Pêcheur (Innocents), co-written by Le Pêcheur and Delphine Labouret (Innocents), and produced by Elephant (Gaëlle Cholet and Sandra Ouaiss). The eight-part series begins shooting this month around Paris.

In this fast-paced paranoid thriller, Anne Marivin (Ce soir je vais tuer l’assassin de mon fils) takes on the titular role. Six years after abandoning the hunt for a serial killer and quitting the police force, Rebecca decides to return to work to escape the depression eating away at her, which has distanced her from her husband (Benjamin Biolay) and her children.

Hans Rosenfeldt’s Marcella was produced by Buccaneer Media and stars Anna Friel. Season three is available now on Netflix and will premiere on ITV in the U.K. in the fall.

Cineflix Rights also scored exclusive worldwide rights to the new series.

“Marcella has been a huge success in the U.K. and internationally‚ a testimony to the strength of the characters and story created by Hans Rosenfeldt, Nicola Larder and Buccaneer Media,” said James Durie, head of scripted at Cineflix Rights, in a statement. “We’re all really looking forward to seeing how the creative team at Elephant develop Rebecca for French viewers and, through our distribution deal, a global audience.”

Sandra Ouaiss, managing director of Elephant International and co-producer of the French remake along with Gaëlle Cholet, managing director of Elephant Story, said: “We are very excited to work on the French adaptation of this acclaimed, female-led crime drama, now named Rebecca, as we team up with TF1 and Cineflix Rights. In this French remake, we are diving even deeper into Rebecca’s personal journey, turning the first two seasons into one, to bring another edge to this heroine.”

Anne Viau, artistic director of French drama at TF1, added: “We were immediately seduced by the character of Rebecca, which is both extremely endearing, but also mysterious and complex. The role offers a terrific range for an actress like Anne Marivin. All the ingredients of an addictive ‘thriller noir’ are there to seduce our audience!”