France 2 is launching season 2 of “The School of Life” tonight, now worn by Julie de Bona (“Les Combattantes”), who succeeds Guillaume Labbé as the series’ main teacher. A stunning new batch, even more successful than the first.
What is it about ?
Exit Vincent Picard, the teacher from season 1, and make way for Alexandra Delage, 38, a high school teacher as we dream of. She brilliantly teaches French and provides a theater workshop. Alexandra naturally empathizes with her students: according to her, to learn well, you have to feel good about yourself. This is why she tries to solve as much as possible the problems of her students and especially those, particularly acute, of one of her classes of first.
Everything becomes even more difficult when Alexandra has to manage her illness at the same time, which could jeopardize her career and her family plans. For the first time in her life, the one who loves helping others will also have to agree to get help.
The school of life season 2, every Wednesday at 9:10 p.m. on France 2 from April 5.
6 episodes seen out of 6.
Who is it with?
To succeed Guillaume Labbé, who superbly wore the first episodes of The School of Life broadcast in 2021 on France 2, the channel and the production called on Julie de Bona, one of the most popular actresses on the small screen. French who, after Les Combattantes or La Maison d’en face, lends her features to Alexandra Delage, the main teacher of this season 2.
At his side, viewers will find several familiar faces since Florence Pernel, Bruno Sanches (HPI), Yannig Samot (Balthazar), Cécile Rebboah (Do not do this, do not do that), Nicolas Briancon and Mélanie Page (Under the sun) are back in the skin of the high school principal and teachers who continue to serve as the setting for the series.
This new burst of episodes also introduces a new group of hyper endearing high school students, of which we can cite some of the excellent performers: Liana Belkhadra (The Man from the Cellar), Nolan Masraf (The World of Tomorrow), Sarah Pachoud (Marion ), Rita Benmannana, Marine Marçais-Boyer, Elliot Daurat (Dropped), and Florian Lesieur, whom fans of Plus belle la vie know well (Noé, it was him).
Not to mention a few guests such as Patrick Chesnais, Vincent Desagnat, François Vincentelli, Xavier Lemaître (Olivia), Baya Kasmi (Jeune & Golri), Constantin Vidal (Mental) or even Sabine Perraud (Here it all begins).
Gilles Gustine/FTV/FICTION’ AIR Julie de Bona, new luminous teacher of The school of life.
It’s worth checking out ?
A little less than two years after its launch, the series L’école de la vie is finally back on France 2 with a second season which achieves the feat of being even more successful than its inaugural batch, carried by Guillaume Labbé ( I promise you).
In line with what the Quebec series 30 lives offered, of which it is the French adaptation, The School of Life focuses each season on a different teacher, always determined to help his students.
Vincent Picard, the history-geography teacher who faced the mourning of his wife in the first season, therefore leaves his place here to Alexandra Delage, a French teacher confronted with the overwhelming diagnosis of cancer. A news that she will first of all keep for herself, preferring to preserve her family and focus on the well-being of her students. Before realizing that she, too, must accept help?
In a French audiovisual landscape where so-called “school” series are legion, L’école de la vie had initially chosen a more dramatic and melodramatic DNA, where Sam, La Faute à Rousseau and Le Replacacant have or instead tended to balance their social intrigue with a healthy dose of comedy.
We could also blame season 1 of The School of Life for sometimes falling a little too pathos. What this season 2, still crossed by the bewitching song “Beaux” by Clara Luciani, managed to correct, avoiding the too easy teardrop and going more towards light and lightness, through the very different temperament of his heroine, his family life, and the humour, even surrealism, of the teachers around him.
Christophe Lartige/FTV
Léo (Bruno Sanches) and Mrs. Joubert (Mélanie Page) continue to turn around.
Brighter than ever, Julie de Bona is incredibly accurate in the skin of Alexandra, who tries to save the balance of her family and her students, even as her world is collapsing.
Its trajectory over the season, very well drawn by screenwriters Yann Le Gal, Zina Modiano, Hélène Hassoun, Emmanuelle Michelet, Sandrine Gregor, Jean-Baptiste Vandroy, Charlotte Vecchiet and Niels Rahou, touches our hearts. And we come away from watching these six new episodes with the feeling that Julie de Bona finds here without a doubt one of the most beautiful roles of her career. Even the most beautiful.
And then there are all the young actors who surround him, chosen to perfection by the production. Like Nolan Masraf, Rita Benmannana and Marine Marçais-Boyer, at the center of the very beautiful episodes 2, 4 and 5, which deploy a truth of the game and a rather disconcerting ability to move us in just a few glances or a few silences.
Christophe Lartige/FTV/Prod
Nolan Masraf, one of the revelations of this season 2.
Punctuated by very beautiful moments, this second season of The School of Life, produced by Nagui and Stéphanie Chartreux, is therefore a total success, which makes us go through all the emotions and paints very beautiful portraits, of pupils, teachers, but also and above all of women.
More than ever, the series reminds us of the importance of education and of these inspiring teachers who, like revelators, leave an indelible mark on the students they meet for a school year or more. And who will be able to build themselves as adults thanks to them.
And we can only hope that the social issues discussed in this season and the problems affecting Alexandra’s students will manage to stir viewers. And to create dialogue within families. Before a season 3 featuring new characters once again?