KIlian loves Betty, Sylvia and Fanny have a crush on Romain, while Ariane investigates the cop killer. Every evening of the week, at 8:20 p.m., on France 3, More beautiful life unfolds the destiny of ordinary Marseillais crossed by extraordinary events. Thursday, May 5, France Télévisions confirmed that the most famous public service television series will end definitively in November, after eighteen years of daily adventures.
Farewell to the Mistral district and its friendly inhabitants, young and old, colorful, but without a southern accent, happy and depressed at the same time. An image of France today in its liveliness, benevolence and diversity. “Whether you’re black or white, if you reach out for her, life is more beautiful”, sings the credits. The metaphor, a bit nostalgic, of a country which, depending on your point of view, is changing or tearing itself apart.
Installed on the antennas on August 30, 2004, the series resumed the codes of the French soap opera, already experimented with Under the sun, another mythical series, on TF1, which popularized Saint-Tropez in cottages around the world. But with More beautiful lifethe sentimental bluettes rubbed shoulders with the reality of big cities and small and big events, all of it mixed with a detective story that is not always believable, but which spices up the existence of this fictional district entirely created in the studios of La Belle of May, in Marseilles.
Netflix has arrived
Identification is the key to its success. The seventeen authors who follow one another to produce an episode per day endeavor to situate it in time – in the one broadcast on December 24, each prepares for Christmas – and in the news. Barely homosexual marriage legalized in France, in May 2013, doctor Gabriel Riva marries Thomas and forms one of the flagship couples of the soap opera. It was at this time that the series achieved its best scores, with nearly 6 million loyal viewers and more than 20% market share, close to the unbeatable “20 hours” of TF1. The Belle de Mai image factory is running at full capacity and employs nearly 600 people.
Then the public gradually detached itself, under the effect of the fragmentation of the television audience and competition. Today, less than 3 million fans continue to speculate on the thwarted love affairs of Fanny, Betty and their suitors. The midday sun has inspired new suitors. From now on, such a big sunon France 2, or Tomorrow belongs to us, on TF1, achieve better performances.
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