We will see François Perrin on December 13 on France 2, in the TV film Next to her pumps. On this occasion, the actor gave an interview to Pocket TVin which he happily returned to the France 3 detective series, in which he played the main character for eight years. Very popular, Mongeville had continued to see its audiences climb – a rather rare feat –, attracting more than 5.8 million viewers. However, in November 2021, the channel decided to end the series. Questioned on this subject, the father of six children, who can boast of having been applauded by a global star, replied, visibly still as pained: “What do you want me to tell you? They stopped the show in full swing.”
Moreover, as the 76-year-old actor pointed out, the success of the series continued even two years after its end. The father, traumatized by the way in which he was told of his son Louis’ autism, is not the only one to have noted this, evoking the excellent audiences for rebroadcasts of Mongeville : “My friend Mimie Mathy called me to say: ‘You’ve made over a million again!'”. It must be said that the actress, who welcomed Francis Perrin in the series Joséphine, guardian angel, broadcast on TF1, is always there to support his friend. In an interview given to Tele-Leisure in 2020, Francis Perrin had already openly regretted the cessation of Mongevilleexplaining being “a little disappointed by the attitude of France Télévisions”particularly on the last day of filming: “No one said anything to me, not even a goodbye.”
“I do not believe it anymore”
At the time, a petition was launched by fans of the series to demand its return – without success… If Francis Perrin explained to Pocket TV to be surprised “that no production has had the idea or the desire to relaunch it”, he nevertheless no longer has any hope of one day reprising his role of Antoine Mongeville. As he confided again, with a certain bitterness: “I don’t believe it anymore. If in two years, France Télévisions hasn’t understood, it’s ruined.” However, while TF1 has just relaunched one of the public service’s flagship series after its cessation, perhaps the actor will end up having a nice surprise one of these days…
Article written with the collaboration of 6Medias
Photo credits: COADIC GUIREC / BESTIMAGE