France’s audiovisual sector was grappling with growing pains when Isabelle Degeorges was named president of Gaumont Television France in 2013. By then, local audiences were already gravitating toward slicker international formats burnished by glossy production standards, a shift that would only accelerate when the streamers arrived the following year.
So one of Degeorges’ first moves was to modernize Gaumont’s development processes to keep pace with rising expectations.
“We no longer had just a domestic audience,” says Degeorges. “That meant rethinking everything — from writers’ rooms to lighting setups — to reconnect with viewers and redefine the DNA of French series.”
Gaumont found that new creative thread by weaving historic local IP with a swashbuckling storytelling style that put entertainment front and center. The shift, Degeorges notes, proved a “game-changer” for both the company and the broader French TV landscape when “Lupin” shot up the Netflix charts in 2021.
“All of a sudden, we were recognized as the producers of the first French series that was a hit worldwide,” says Degeorges. “All of a sudden, we were in the big leagues.”
As Degeorges puts it, Gaumont became the company that cracked the code — delivering a French hit with global appeal.
Upcoming projects include “In the Shadow of the Forest,” a paranoid thriller starring Benoît Magimel and Mélanie Laurent for Apple TV+; “The Deal,” a docudrama about the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks that recently won the Buyers Choice Award at Series Mania; and the ninth season of the studio’s popular procedural “The Art of Crime,” commissioned by France Télévisions and sold by Gaumont in over 60 countries.
“The Deal”
“Premium series are more character-driven,” says Degeorges, reflecting on the through-line in much of the company’s recent output. “At its core, ‘The Deal’ is just about diplomatic negotiations, but what keeps you hooked and makes it addictive are the incredibly well-written roles.”
Gaumont’s transatlantic operations have seen a similar shift. Since 2020, Gaumont U.S. president Nicolas Atlan has overseen all activities across the U.S., Latin America and Spain, spanning both film and TV. Under his leadership, the company has streamlined development, strengthened talent partnerships, and prioritized local storytelling in key markets such as Mexico, Spain and Brazil, where Gaumont recently signed a co-production pact with local giant Globo.
The Latin American pivot proved timely, offering Gaumont an outlet as the English-speaking market faced post-pandemic labor unrest and economic slowdown. The U.S. pause allowed the studio to regroup, developing projects from books and articles and eyeing remakes while continuing Latin American productions like dystopian thriller “Desolate Future” for Paramount Television Intl. Studios and comedy “The Biggest Fan” for Netflix.
Since the strike ended, they’ve signed deals with nearly every major platform, while bringing feature and series projects to studios and streamers alike.
“We’re quite happy with the rebound,” says Atlan. “The market’s still complicated, but now that its stabilized, we’ve been catching up.”
As part of that strategy, Gaumont has taken a “full-spectrum” approach by looking for synergies between international subsidiaries while mining the company’s back catalog for remake opportunities tailored to local territories.
“We’re not just remaking the classics,” says Atlan, noting that the 2014 Jean Reno-led sleeper “The Chef” will soon inspire a Mexican adaptation reimagined for a different culinary culture. “We’re looking at films with strong concepts that can be reimagined, [working across the company to] identify hidden gems that still have something fresh to offer.”
Since taking the helm in 2020, Atlan has also looked to pepper Gaumont’s U.S. operations with more “French DNA” — a creative identity he likens to character-driven storytelling and auteur-focused development.
“People know that we listen to talent,” says Atlan. “Gaumont has a well-established reputation for quality, so our partners feel confident that their projects will be protected and seen through to completion, and that’s our goal — to get it done and get it right.”
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