Only 9 months after its stop on France 3, “Plus belle la vie” is preparing to make its comeback on TF1. Find out everything you need to know about the sequel to the series which should begin filming this fall.
It’s now official: almost 9 months after bowing out on France 3, Plus belle la vie is preparing to make its comeback on television on TF1. The channel has in fact decided to revive the series to the delight of fans who have followed the adventures of the inhabitants of the small Mistral district for more than 18 years. Here’s everything you need to know about this highly anticipated sequel!
New name: what will the sequel to Plus belle la vie be called?
Who says new channel, says new name. TF1 announced at the end of October that the sequel to the series would undergo a change of identity. Exit Plus belle la vie, the series will now be called Plus belle la vie, even plus belle, a new name which allows Newen and TF1 to show that a breath of fresh air will blow through fiction.
Channel: where will Plus belle la vie be broadcast?
Broadcast for more than 18 years on France 3, Plus belle la vie will change channels for its season 19. It is now TF1 which will offer the series daily to its viewers.
Date: when Plus belle la vie returns to TF1?
After several months of waiting, TF1 revealed on November 13 the date of the return of Plus belle la vie on its channel. It is therefore on Monday January 8, 2024 that the first episode of the continuation of the daily soap opera will be offered on the front page.
Time slot: at what time will Plus belle la vie be broadcast?
The rumors were right: the sequel to Plus belle la vie will be broadcast at the beginning of the afternoon, after the 1 p.m. news. A good way for TF1 to tap into the television news audiences, which bring together an average of nearly 4 million viewers every day.
Don’t panic for people who will not be available at this time. The episodes will be available for replay on the channel’s new streaming platform, called TF1+, which will be launched the same day.
Plot: what is the story of Plus belle la vie? What will this new version be about?
For the moment, TF1 has not yet announced an official synopsis for the sequel to Plus belle la vie, but the story should resume several months after the events of the final prime, broadcast in November 2022.
According to the press release sent by the channel, the writers will have to take up the challenge of modernizing the series while keeping the ingredients that made it successful. Its anchoring in current society and its romantic stories will therefore always be an integral part of Plus belle la vie.
“It will not be a simple sequel, but a new creation”, clarified Vincent Meslet, the general director of Newen France. The latter explained that they were in the process of forming a team “mixing new authors with the heirs of Plus belle la vie with the ambition of instilling new dynamism.”
Filming: where is the sequel to Plus belle la vie filmed? Does the series take place in Marseille? Will we see the Mistral again?
The most seasoned fans know: all the sets of Plus belle la vie were destroyed last January, a few months after the end.
If the studio sequences for the sequel to the series will still be filmed in the legendary Belle de Mai studios in Marseille, the scenes produced in the Mistral will change settings. TF1 and Newen have in fact decided to set up shop in the small village of Allauch, whose Place de l’Hôtel de Ville will become the new setting for the new Mistral district, with its emblematic bar.
For the moment, we do not yet know how this change of scenery will be justified, even if numerous rumors report the collapse of this central location of the series.
Cast and characters: Laurent Kérusoré (Thomas), Marwan Berreni (Abdel), Léa François (Babara)… Who will be back in the sequel?
In its press release, TF1 initially announced the return of several emblematic characters, notably Marwan Berreni (Abdel Fedala), Sylvie Flepp (Mirta Torrès), Léa François (Barbara Evenot), Stéphane Hénon (Jean-Paul Boher), Cécilia Hornus (Blanche Marci) and Laurent Kérusoré (Thomas Marci), who will be alongside “new characters and new families”. Other names were communicated later, including that of Marie Réache (Babeth Nebout) who has already made big revelations about this project!
France 3/François Lefebvre Laurent Kérusoré
Laurent Kérusoré (Thomas Marci)
Arriving in Plus belle la vie in March 2005, a few months after the launch of the series, Laurent Kérusoré very quickly became one of fans’ favorite characters. The actor will reprise his role as Thomas Marci in the rest of the series. “Good news” he rejoiced on his Instagram account.
Bruno Bebert / Bestimage
Marwan Berrini
Marwan Berreni (Abdel Fedala)
Present since 2009, Marwan Berreni will be back in the sequel to Plus belle la vie, where he will once again slip into the shoes of Abdel Fedala, Boher’s little protégé. In the finale, the lawyer reconnected with his childhood sweetheart Barbara, who carried his child, to the delight of fans. Unfortunately, the actor is currently at the heart of a scandal which could call into question his participation in this sequel…
Bruno Bebert / Bestimage
Léa François
Léa François (Barbara Evenot)
Barbara will be back in the sequel to Plus belle la vie. Léa François, who played the character for more than 10 years, was in fact announced for the casting by TF1. The perfect opportunity to see what awaits the ambitious young chef, who will now have to juggle her life as a mother and her restaurant.
France 3/François Lefebvre
Sylvie Flepp
Sylvie Flepp (Mirta Torres)
Present in the series since the launch, Sylvie Flepp, aka Mirta Torres, will return in the sequel to Plus belle la vie. A fervent Catholic, the character got married in the finale to Yolande, her best friend, in order to help her get out of a bad financial situation.
ROBERT FAGES / BESTIMAGE
Stéphane Hénon
Stéphane Hénon (Jean-Paul Boher)
Arriving in Marseille in 2007, Jean-Paul Boher very quickly managed to conquer the hearts of fans, in particular thanks to his relationship with Abdel Fedala, his spiritual son. The return of the character played by Stéphane Hénon in the sequel to Plus belle la vie suggests that the Mistral police station, as well as the agents who worked there, will also be present in the series.
France 3/François Lefebvre
Cecilia Hornus
Cécilia Hornus (Blanche Marci)
Cécilia Hornus, the interpreter of Blanche Marci, will be present in the sequel to Plus belle la vie. This high school teacher, mother of Johanna, Lucas and Noé, has always had an eventful life in Mistral. After falling under the spell of her ex-husband, François, Blanche remarried him in the finale broadcast last November. Will their relationship be stronger than during their first union? Answer soon.
For her part, Rebecca Hampton, who played Céline Frémont, announced that she did not wish to return in the sequel to Plus belle la vie, just like Laetitia Milot (Mélanie) and Dounia Coesens (Johanna) who are now in the credits of Demain nous belongs.
Casting: who are the new actors?
If many emblematic actors will make their comeback in the sequel to Plus belle la vie, the TF1 soap opera will also see the arrival of new faces. Jeremy Charvet, a singer revealed in The Voice who notably appeared in Balthazar, will be one of the members of a new family, while Iñaki Lartigue (Tomorrow belongs to us) will be a new recruit at the police station alongside Moon Dailly (Crossing Lines).
Diane Dassigny (Profiling) will be recruited by Léa Nebout within the medical office. Anthony Joubert, discovered in France Has Incredible Talent, will play Ange, a character about whom we still know nothing.
Finally, the actress Jade Pradin, who played Salomé, Clem’s sister in the eponymous series, also announced on Instagram that she had joined the cast of Plus belle la vie, encore plus belle. Other names are expected to be announced soon.
Where did we stop? How did Plus belle la vie end in 2022?
It was on November 18, 2022 that Plus belle la vie ended on the occasion of a special event placed under the sign of love. Titled “Seven weddings for one funeral”, this prime saw several Mistralians pass the ring on their finger.
Newly engaged, Killian and Betty decided to celebrate their union on the anniversary of Roland’s world tour. Their idea and their happiness spread very quickly and a wave of marriages was announced.
It was not one, but seven weddings that were to be celebrated on the Place du Mistral. But before getting married, future husbands and wives had to face many adventures.
In the end, it was Killian/Betty, Blanche/François, Estelle/Francesco, Kevin/Vanessa, Mirta/Yolande and Luna/Bastien/Guillaume who got married. For his part, Abdel decided to break off his engagement to form a relationship with Barbara, after discovering that he was the father of her baby.