Prime Video France is presenting this as a golden age for French content creators — expanding beyond 'LOL' into premium literary adaptations, bold unscripted formats, and diverse storytelling that puts women behind the camera at historic parity levels.
Insiders note Prime Video is playing catch-up in France after Netflix dominated local production for years. The Joël Dicker grab is strategic — his books are massive sellers in French-speaking markets, giving any adaptation built-in audience awareness that can't be bought.
Thomas Dubois, head of French Originals at Prime Video, made the announcement June 25, 2026 at Café de l'Homme overlooking the Eiffel Tower. The streamer revealed 'Animal Sauvage' starts shooting in days with Noémie Merlant and Matthias Schoenaerts leading a cast including Pauline Clément, Pierre-Yves Cardinal, and Quim Gutiérrez.
Prime Video France is making a serious power play for the French market — but whether these ambitious bets pay off against entrenched Netflix dominance remains to be seen. The Dicker partnership alone signals they want prestige AND popularity.
Prime Video France just dropped what might be its most aggressive slate of homegrown originals yet, unveiling a mix of high-profile literary adaptations, creator-driven unscripted formats, and premium scripted projects at a glitzy Paris showcase Thursday. The headliner? A multi-book partnership with Swiss author Joël Dicker, whose bestselling novel "Animal Sauvage" is getting the six-part Prime Video treatment.
Directed by Vincent Maël Cardona ("Magnetic Beats"), the adaptation stars Noémie Merlant and Matthias Schoenaerts alongside Pauline Clément, Pierre-Yves Cardinal, and Quim Gutiérrez — filming kicks off in a matter of days. But here's where it gets interesting: Prime Video locked in rights to adapt two more Dicker bestsellers, "L'Énigme de la Chambre 622" and "Le Livre des Baltimore," signaling this isn't a one-off literary dalliance. Thomas Dubois, head of French Originals at Prime Video, framed the strategy during the presentation held at Café de l'Homme overlooking the Eiffel Tower.
"France is a territory where there is a very strong relationship between audiences and authors, between viewers and the stories they already know from books, cinema, comedy or digital culture," he told Variety. "The opportunity for us is to take those worlds and build them with the right level of ambition." On the unscripted side, Prime Video is gambling big on "Mascarade" — a creator-led format fronted by YouTube star Loris Giuliano, who boasts 1.9 million subscribers.
The concept: eight major French celebrities attend Giuliano's birthday party while disguised through voice and appearance transformation technology, racing to avoid being unmasked before dawn. Produced by Mediawan Prod H.O.T., the show was created from an idea by Giuliano and Tom Aguilar. "We hope it will be our next 'LOL' and get adapted internationally," Dubois said, noting the project blends investigation, comedy, and escape-game-style gameplay.
The scripted slate is equally stacked. "Paris 18," produced by Iconoclast and created by Elias Belkeddar and Audrey Diwan — who won Venice's Golden Lion for "Happening" — is described as a thriller set in a Parisian neighborhood at the crossroads of cultures. Meanwhile, "Les Justiciers" comes from Philippe Lacheau, the force behind "LOL," which has run six seasons plus two spinoffs.
Dubois hinted at deepening ties with recurring collaborators: "At Prime Video, we like to create long-term relationships with the talent we work with." Catherine Deneuve also appears in the fashion-world series "Glamsquad," revealed during the Paris showcase alongside singer Theodora and a cast including Arcadi Radeff, Antonia Buresi, Lucie Goudeau, and Natacha Krief. On the film side, Prime Video announced buddy-cop comedy "B.A.D.G.E." starring Marina Foïs and Alison Wheeler (directed by Simon Astier), action comedy "Stunt" from Franck Gastambide opposite Jean-Pascal Zadi, and "Masterplan" — a heist comedy marking Prime Video's first French-Italian Original film, starring Stanley Tucci.
Dubois emphasized that nearly half of the 2026 slate is produced or written by women. "In 2026, nearly one out of every two series and films is produced by a woman, and 50% of our writers are women," he said. Whether this ambitious, wide-ranging bet can challenge Netflix's established French presence remains to be seen — but Prime Video is clearly done playing it safe.
