A series about 2Be3, a star boy band of the 90s, the game LOL season 5 and NBA basketball are among the new features coming to Prime Video, Amazon’s streaming platform, its French branch announced on Wednesday during a press conference in Paris.
Filming for “Culte – 2Be3” will begin in early November. It is the spin-off of a first series expected in October on the platform and dedicated to another popular phenomenon, the reality TV show “Loft Story” (2001).
Initially conceived as a single series, the latter gave Prime Video the idea of a “collection,” explained Thomas Dubois, director of original content, during a press conference.
The collection aims to “shine a light” on ordinary people who have suddenly become famous and have “shaped today’s society,” he continued.
The roles of the boy band members Filip, Frank and Adel are played by Antoine Simony, Marin Judas and Namory Bakayoko.
LOL “is the franchise that is a hit”
Another big release expected is season 5 of the comedy game show “LOL: Who laughs, goes out!”. The cast will include Artus, director of the hit film “Un p’tit truc en plus”, MMA fighter Cédric Doumbé and actress Muriel Robin.
Adapted from a Japanese format, LOL “is the franchise that is a hit”, it is “extremely important for us”, commented Thomas Dubois.
Prime Video will try to repeat this success with a 100% French format, “Liars Club”. Celebrity duos will compete to guess if anecdotes told by their opponents are true.
In the sports department, Prime Video will broadcast around a hundred NBA matches, the prestigious American basketball championship, each season starting in 2025. This is the result of a global agreement announced in July. These matches will be available at no extra cost to subscribers.
Finally, on the film side, Prime Video will offer “McWalter”, a comedy inspired by the character created by YouTuber Mister V, “Carjackers”, with the essential Franck Gastambide, or “The Gardener”, an action comedy bringing together Jean-Claude Van Damme and Michaël Youn.
“God, my mother and Sylvie Vartan”
After having tried the experiment in the United States, Prime Video is co-producing for the first time a French film intended to be first shown in cinemas, “God, my mother and Sylvie Vartan”.
“The in-theater and at-home experience are not opposed, they are complementary,” argued the new general director of Prime Video France, Christophe Deguine.
He took the opportunity to take a swipe at the French media chronology system, which imposes a waiting period on televisions and platforms before broadcasting films released in theaters: “The agreements expire at the beginning of 2025, we are calling for a resumption of discussions.”
