Canal+, the French pay-cable channel, and Sky Atlantic, the British pay-cable channel, are working together on a remake of the Scandinavian series Bron/Broen, a Swedish/Danish production.
In Sweden and Denmark, the 10-episode first season aired from Wednesday, September 21 to November 23, 2011. A second season has been commissioned and will air in late 2013. In the UK, Bron/Broen is known as The Bridge, and season 1 aired from Saturday, April 21 to May 19, 2012 on BBC Four. In France, it's not known as anything yet (but if it's an exact translation, the title would be Le Pont), no channel has picked up the show so far, but I'm confident Arte will buy the rights of Bron/Broen and air it at some point.
In the original series, the upper half of a female Swedish politician and the lower half of a Danish prostitute are discovered sewn together on the border of the two countries, on the Øresund Bridge (Öresundsbron in Svenska, Øresundsbroen in Dansk) linking Malmö (Sweden) to Copenhagen (Denmark). The lead homicide detective of these two cities, Saga Norén (Swedish policewoman) and Martin Rohde (Danish policeman), work together on the case.
To my knowledge, other Scandinavian series you might want to check out include Forbrydelsen, Millenium, Lilyhammer (in English ; co-production with Netflix), Wallander (not to be confused with the BBC remake starring Kenneth Branagh), Borgen and Äkta Människor. I haven't seen any of them (yet !), but I've heard good things.
In this French/British remake, the scene of the crime would be set in the English Channel (or as we call it, "la Manche", meaning "the Sleeve"), in the Channel Tunnel (or as we call it, "le tunnel sous la Manche"). This remake could take place in Coquelles (France) and Cheriton (Britain), the two small towns connected by the Tunnel, 50 kilometers (31 miles) apart from one another, but the show will most likely feature police officers of two bigger towns near the Tunnel : Calais (France) and Folkestone (England).
Launched on November 4, 1984, Canal+ is producing original dramatic series since December 13, 2005 (episodes 1.01 & 1.02 of Engrenages). They've had many other series on the air since then, all of them in French (except XIII & Borgia) :
- Le Bureau (2006) : 1 season (6 episodes). It's a comedy series, a remake of The Office.
- Reporters (2007-2009) : 2 seasons (18 episodes).
- Sécurité Intérieure (2007) : 1 season (8 episodes).
- La Commune (2007) : 1 season (8 episodes).
- Scalp (2008) : 1 season (8 episodes).
- Inside Jamel Comedy Club (2009) : 1 season (8 episodes). It's a comedy series.
- Pigalle, la nuit (2009) : 1 season (8 episodes).
- Engrenages (2005- ?) : 3 seasons (28 episodes). Season 4 (12 episodes) commences this fall.
- Mafiosa (2007- ?) : 4 seasons (32 episodes). Season 4 aired last March/April, season 5 is being written.
- Hard (2008- ?) : 2 seasons (18 episodes). Season 3 is being written. It's a dramedy series.
- Braquo (2009- ?) : 2 seasons (16 episodes). In 2013, season 3 (8 episodes) will probably be the final season.
- Maison Close (2010- ?) : 1 season (8 episodes). Season 2 (8 episodes) will probably air this fall.
- XIII (2011- ?) : 1 season (13 episodes). Season 2 is filming. Co-production with Showcase (Canada). In English.
- Borgia (2011- ?) : 1 season (12 episodes). Season 2 is filming through November 2012. In English.
- Platane (2011- ?) : 1 season (12 episodes). Season 2 is being written. It's a comedy series.
- Kaboul Kitchen (2012- ?) : 1 season (12 episodes). A second season has been ordered. It's a comedy series.
- WorkinGirls (2012- ?) : 1 season (12 episodes). It's a comedy series with 13-minute episodes.
- Les revenants (2013- ?) : 1 season (10 episodes). This fantasy series will probably début in early 2013.
Launched on February 1, 2011, Sky Atlantic started broadcasting original scripted series... three days ago, with the première of Hit and Miss, a 6-episode miniseries starring Chloë Sevigny.
Anyway, there's no absolute certainty this French/English remake of Bron/Broen will pan out, for now Canal+ and Sky Atlantic are just talking, but it seems like it'd be an interesting series.
Sources : Le Village / DigitalSpy.
