From Parisian talent agents in crisis to spies juggling double lives, these 20 French television series offer drama, comedy, thriller, and plenty of charm—perfect for fans of French tv shows and anyone wanting to learn french while bingeing.
Why French Television Series Are Worth Your Time
French TV shows aren’t just foreign curiosities—they’re full of smart plots, quirky characters, and unexpected twists that can rival any American series. From tense thrillers to laugh-out-loud comedies, these shows give a peek into life in Paris, the French countryside, and everything in between. Many are available in the U.S. with English subtitles, making them easy to enjoy whether you’re learning French or just looking for something different to binge.
Check out our full guide to French TV shows on Netflix or tips to learn French with Netflix.
Top 20 French Television Series (20 → 1)
#20 – Braquo
Braquo doesn’t just flirt with darkness—it dives headfirst into it. This gritty Parisian crime series follows a team of police officers who cross the line between law and chaos after one of their own dies in disgrace. What begins as a quest for justice turns into a spiral of revenge, corruption, and moral collapse. With its bleak tone, shaky alliances, and relentless pacing, Braquo feels like The Shield by way of Saint-Denis: raw, ruthless, and undeniably addictive. It’s French noir at its most uncompromising.
📺 Watch on Amazon Prime Video
#19 – Huge in France
In Huge in France, Gad Elmaleh shines as a once-famous comedian navigating the quirks of Los Angeles while reconnecting with his son. His humor feels effortless, his timing impeccable, and the cultural clash between French wit and American absurdity gives the series a charmingly awkward energy. Netflix viewers in the U.S. can enjoy this comedic journey while catching glimpses of Elmaleh’s real-life comedic genius.
📺 Watch on Netflix
#18 – Captain Marleau (Capitaine Marleau)
Capitaine Marleau is France’s answer to Murder, She Wrote—if Jessica Fletcher wore a trapper hat and had zero patience for anyone’s nonsense. Each episode follows the eccentric yet razor-sharp Captain Marleau as she breezes into small towns across France, solving murders with a mix of blunt humor, oddball charm, and uncanny intuition. The crimes are twisty, the guest stars are top-notch, and Marleau’s unfiltered personality makes the procedural format feel fresh again. Somehow cozy and cutting at the same time, it’s comfort TV for anyone who likes their mysteries with a smirk.
📺 Watch on Mhz Choice via Amazon
#17 – The Forest (La Forêt)
The Forest (La Forêt) is a dark, slow-burning thriller set in a quiet village in the Ardennes, where the disappearance of a teenage girl rattles a close-knit community. As the police dig deeper, long-buried secrets begin to surface — revealing that everyone in this forest has something to hide. With its moody cinematography and haunting sense of isolation, it feels like France’s answer to Broadchurch or True Detective: emotionally charged, beautifully paced, and quietly devastating.
📺 Watch on Netflix
#16 – Osmosis
In Osmosis, a near-future Paris faces a tech-driven dating revolution, where love is determined by algorithms that read your brain. Hugo Becker (Gossip Girl) portrays the lead with subtle charm, capturing the tension between science, desire, and human unpredictability. The series’ futuristic visuals combined with French cultural touchstones make it both thrilling and uniquely Parisian.
📺 Watch on Netflix
#15 – Maupassant (Chez Maupassant)
Chez Maupassant brings the short stories of Guy de Maupassant to life with elegance and dramatic flair. From haunting moral dilemmas to subtle character studies, the anthology is a masterclass in French storytelling. It’s perfect for viewers who enjoy compact, impactful dramas.
📺 Watch on TV5MONDE+
#14 – In the Service of France (Au service de la France)
This spy comedy is a clever send-up of French intelligence in the 1960s. Wilfried Bonnet shines as an inept but earnest recruit, while Hugo Becker delivers the perfect foil with charisma and comic timing. Bureaucracy and espionage collide hilariously in this series, and its satirical view of Cold War politics gives the show both humor and historical charm. Available on TV5MONDEplus in the U.S.
📺 Watch on TV5MONDE+
#13 – Represent(En Place)
Represent is a sharp and hilarious political satire that asks: what if an ordinary guy accidentally became a presidential frontrunner? Jean-Pascal Zadi—who also co-created the show—plays Stéphane Blé, a social worker turned viral sensation who suddenly finds himself running for president of France. Supported (and sometimes sabotaged) by a ragtag campaign team, Blé tries to stay true to his ideals while navigating the absurdities of French politics. With Marina Foïs and Éric Judor rounding out a stellar cast, Represent delivers biting humor, surprising warmth, and a welcome dose of chaos.
📺 Watch on Netflix
#12 – HPI (Haut Potentiel Intellectuel)
Audrey Fleurot dazzles in HPI as a housekeeper with a genius IQ who becomes an unlikely crime solver. Her intelligence and charisma light up every scene, while the clever plots keep viewers guessing. The series’ witty dialogue and sharp social observations make it one of the most enjoyable French comedies with a criminal twist.
📺 Watch on Hulu
#11 – The Returned (Les Revenants)
In the hauntingly atmospheric The Returned (Les Revenants), the dead don’t claw their way out of graves—they simply come home, confused and unchanged, as if nothing happened. Set in a small Alpine town, this eerie slow-burn drama follows families stunned by the reappearance of loved ones who died years earlier. As they try to pick up where they left off, strange events ripple through the community: the reservoir level drops, electricity flickers, and an unease settles over every streetlight. It’s French supernatural storytelling at its most elegant—moody, emotional, and unsettlingly human. The show’s success even inspired a U.S. remake, but nothing captures the same melancholic magic as the original.
📺 Watch on Prime Video
#10 – Marianne
Marianne is a deliciously creepy French horror series that plays like a Gallic cousin of The Haunting of Hill House. It follows a famous horror novelist whose nightmarish fictional villain — the witch Marianne — begins bleeding into real life, tormenting her and her old friends in their sleepy coastal hometown. What starts as a writer’s crisis spirals into full-blown psychological terror, with eerie folklore and a chilling atmosphere that makes even familiar spaces feel cursed. Equal parts literary and spine-tingling, it’s a rare horror show that’s as clever as it is terrifying.
📺 Watch on Netflix
#9 – Lupin
Omar Sy’s magnetic presence carries Lupin, a stylish thriller that modernizes the adventures of Arsène Lupin. Every heist, disguise, and clever twist benefits from Sy’s charm and agility, making him impossible to take your eyes off. Paris serves as a perfect backdrop for this cat-and-mouse game between the gentleman thief and law enforcement.
📺 Watch on Netflix
#8 – Kaamelott
Kaamelott reinvents Arthurian legend with absurd humor and sharp wordplay. Alexandre Astier, creator and star, shines as King Arthur, balancing exasperation and wit, while the ensemble cast delivers lines with pitch-perfect comedic timing. The series’ unique dialogue, inventive humor, and medieval Parisian chaos make it a cult classic in France.
📺 Watch on YouTube
#7 – Baron Noir
Kad Merad and Niels Arestrup illuminate Baron Noir with performances that make the high-stakes world of French politics both thrilling and intimately human. Machinations, betrayal, and ambition collide in a series that feels like a French House of Cards, but with sharper dialogue and local flavor.
📺 Not available in America
#6 – Standing Up (Drôle)
Standing Up (Drôle) trades the usual Parisian glamour for open mics and bad gigs. Set in the city’s small but passionate stand-up scene, the series follows four aspiring comedians as they chase laughs, rent money, and a sense of purpose. Between bombing on stage, hustling for spots, and navigating tangled friendships, Standing Up captures the vulnerability and rush of trying to make people laugh — all while juggling the realities of life in modern Paris. Think Master of None meets The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but with espresso, sarcasm, and a distinctly French rhythm.
📺 Watch on Netflix
#5 – Spiral (Engrenages)
Spiral (Engrenages) is the French The Wire — gritty, morally complex, and unflinchingly real. This long-running police drama dives deep into Paris’s criminal justice system, following detectives, lawyers, and judges whose personal and professional lives intertwine in messy, often heartbreaking ways. The show’s realism is striking: the cops aren’t clean-cut heroes, the lawyers aren’t saints, and justice rarely feels satisfying. With its raw storytelling, social commentary, and pulsing tension, Spiral became the gold standard for French crime dramas and set the tone for every policier that followed.
📺 Watch on MHz Choice
#4 – Bref
Bref is what would happen if How I Met Your Mother were condensed, caffeinated, and shot through a French sense of existential dread. Each episode lasts barely two minutes, yet somehow captures an entire love story, heartbreak, or social meltdown with dizzying speed and humor. Told in rapid-fire voiceover and quick cuts, it’s a hilarious snapshot of modern Parisian life — from awkward hookups to job interviews that go nowhere. Smart, relatable, and absurdly quotable, Bref became a cultural phenomenon in France and remains one of the most inventive comedy formats ever made.
📺 Watch on Disney+
#3 – A French Village (Un Village Français)
A French Village is one of the most ambitious historical dramas France has ever produced. Set in the fictional village of Villeneuve during the Nazi occupation, it captures the moral gray zones of resistance, collaboration, and survival. Robin Renucci commands the screen as the conflicted mayor trying to hold his community together, while Audrey Fleurot—always magnetic—embodies both intelligence and quiet rebellion as the enigmatic Hortense. Every episode immerses you in the texture of occupied France, making it an essential watch for lovers of history and human drama.
📺 Watch on Amazon Prime Video (MHz Choice)
#2 – Call My Agent! (Dix Pour Cent)
With its perfect blend of humor, heart, and celebrity chaos, Call My Agent! (Dix Pour Cent) is a love letter to Parisian glamour and showbiz madness. Camille Cottin shines as Andréa, a fiercely loyal yet delightfully sharp agent trying to balance A-list egos with her own messy personal life. The guest stars—from Isabelle Huppert to Jean Dujardin—make every episode a delight. If you love comedy, Paris, and a little workplace drama, this is your binge.
📺 Watch on Netflix
#1 – The Bureau (Le Bureau des Légendes)
The Bureau (Le Bureau des Légendes) is French television at its most masterful—a razor-sharp espionage thriller where every detail, every glance, every silence matters. Mathieu Kassovitz delivers a career-defining performance as Guillaume Debailly, a deep-cover agent struggling between duty and identity. The writing is meticulous, the tension ever-present, and the Paris-to-Middle East settings pulse with realism. Think Homeland, but more cerebral, more human, and undeniably French.
📺 Watch on Paramount+
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