[Favourite of the Month] Idriss Toma, a successful lawyer, brutally faces the consequences of his work for the rich and powerful. He decides to help those who really need him.
The Code (Le Code) is a top-tier 6 x 52-minute legal drama from the makers of Double Je and Cherif which premieres today on French pubcaster France 2.
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Created by Lionel Olenga, Cécile Even and Nicolas Robert (1), Le Code is produced by Making Prod and L.O. Productions with France Télévisions. The series stars the talented and charismatic Daniel Njo Lobé, frequently seen on television (Meurtres à..., Astrid et Raphaëlle, Marseille...) or on stage and heard in numerous French dubbings (he's the voice of Idris Elba in Luther). Here he plays lawyer Idriss Toma, whose latest triumph in a parisian court comes at a price when he's shot with three bullets while celebrating. Toma survives and returns to Lille, his hometown, but a small piece of bullet stuck in his head can kill him at any moment. Smart, charming and self-confident, he wants to help people in need of a second chance against the judicial system.
Idriss is now a partner in the law firm Ayad-Toma-Vanhoven — specialized in criminal defense — with a passionate lawyer named Nadia Ayad and Jeanne Vanhoven, the eccentric "living legend" of the Bar of Lille. The trio is helped by two young collaborators, Claire Caldeira and Maxime Laffargue, and the firm's legal assistant Élodie Nedelec. In Profession de foi, the very effective (right from the pre-credit sequence) first episode, Idriss Toma and Claire Caldeira defend a woman about to be judged for the murder of her violent companion. Idriss has a
problem of his own as he tries to reconnect with his daughter Chloé after the death of her mother. Nadia must take care of a compulsive shoe stealer.
11 years after the end of the long-running legal drama Avocats et associés (1998-2010), the genre makes a flamboyant return on France 2 thanks to the impeccably crafted Le Code (directed by Jean-Christophe Delpias). Its creators, producers and scriptwriters brilliantly blend the spirit and the tone of U.S. classics from Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley like L.A. Law, Murder One or Boston Legal with the specificities of French criminal procedure. Daniel Njo Lobé is surrounded by a perfect regular cast. Naidra Ayadi (Stillwater, Zone Blanche) plays Nadia Ayad. Theatre, movie and TV actress Christiane Millet is fabulous as Jeanne Vanhoven, a character reminiscent of Boston Legal's Denny Crane (William Shatner) (2).
There's also Barbara Probst (Missions, Camping Paradis) as Claire, Théo Frilet (Maxime Laffargue), Catherine Demaiffe (Le sang de la vigne) as Élodie and Wendy Nieto (Crimes parfaits) as Chloé Barbier. Nadia and Maxime confront the formidable prosecuting attorney Jacques Kowalski in Présumé coupable, the gripping second episode where a young man with a heavy criminal record is accused of shooting down the owner of a grocery store. Chloé gets in big trouble and Idriss wants to be her lawyer. All the characters promise interesting developments, judging from those two episodes written by Lionel Olenga, Cécile Even and Nicolas Robert.
The excellent guest stars of Profession de foi are Annelise Hesme (Nina) as Estelle Lantez, Stéphane Blancafort (Tandem) as Carl Roussel, Gwendolyn Courvenec (Avocate générale Christiansen), François Bureloup (Chérif) as Mr Garcia, Guillaume Faure (Julien Gurou), Fleur Geffrier (Das Boot, Double Je) as Louise Litt, etc. Alban Casterman (Tandem, Al Dorsey, détective privé) makes an appearance... on a photo. The guest cast of Présumé coupable is of the same quality: Grégoire Bonnet (Scènes de ménages, Nina) as Avocat général Kowalski, Elias Hauter (Jérémy Dutertre), Pascal Casanova (Président Toumou), etc. Produced with the participation of TV5 Monde. Filmed with the support of Région Grand Est, Ville de Reims and Communauté urbaine du Grand Reims.
Produced by Stéphane Drouet and Lionel Olenga. Music composed and performed by Michael Tordjman and Maxime Desprez (Double Je). Cinematography by Dominique De Wever. Editing by Thaddée Bertrand (Episode 1) and Nathalie Langlade (Episode 2). Sophie Schmidt is the production manager. Main title design by Mathieu Decarli. This year, Daniel Njo Lobé won the Best Actor award (French competion) at the Séries Mania Festival for Le Code. The series was filmed in Lille, Épernay, Reims and Paris. Distributed by Mediawan Rights, Le Code is available on Salto, the French streaming service, since November 24th.
Special thanks to Christophe Kerambrun and Nicolas Robert.
(1) Based on an original idea from Lionel Olenga.
(2) Her name is a nod to the character of Grace Van Owen in L.A. Law.
https://rights.mediawan.com/world-catalogue/drama/program/4771 (Trailer with English subtitles)
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