France Télévisions has just formalized the end of the emblematic soap opera
Plus belle la vie,
confirming the information from Le Figaro published on February 17.
“
This Thursday, May 5, 2022, the management of France Télévisions announced to the teams of
Plus belle la vie,
in Marseille, that this season would be the last
”, specified the public group in a press release.
The filming of the series inaugurated in 2004 on France 3 will end in September.
And the fiction “
will conclude its long journey on the air in November 2022
”, indicated the public audiovisual group.
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Vincent Meslet, the general manager of Newen, the company which produces the series, ensures that the 200 people who work on the soap opera remain fully mobilized.
“
We still have five months of stories to tell.
This represents a volume of nearly 150 episodes.
On top of that, a primetime will air in early July and it's likely that a big final primetime will be scheduled for November
.”
"
This pioneering and emblematic soap opera has become the longest daily French series in history and a strong brand of France 3
", praised France Télévisions about a program "
transgenerational, anchored in proximity, the authenticity and the realities of French society in all its diversity
”.
Audiences at half mast
The public audiovisual group, however, evokes the need for “
a renewal of the creative offer
”, at a time of the boom in streaming platforms.
A modest way of saying that over the years, the audience has stalled.
After reaching nearly 7 million viewers in the 2000s, they crumbled, falling to 2.7 million on average over the 2021-2022 season, according to Médiamétrie.
The public group has however undertaken to pursue "
a new story with Marseille and its region
" via "
a new creative pact
" in the Marseille city, "
in the extension of the France 2030 plan
", which must "
translate into the filming new original series
”.
“
We are relieved in a sense because France Télévisions has undertaken to compensate to the nearest penny, or 30 million euros per year, the amount of the filming of
Plus Belle la vie
in Marseille via mini-series or TV films
”, has added this technician who has been working on the series for 17 years.
"
Our priority, as a producer, is the social support of the consequences of this stop
", indicates Vincent Meslet.
A file that will begin to be managed next week "
with humanity
", promises the leader.
Newen is well established in PACA and Occitanie and intends to remain "
a privileged partner of these two regions
".
As for
Plus belle la vie
, the manager believes that “
the brand still has a future.
She is worth gold.
As a producer, we will study all the possibilities.
A sequel, a spin-off, the marketing of the catalog...
”.
Plus Belle la vie
, it may not be quite over.
