Jean Reno to star in TF1’s first English language drama

French movie actor Jean Reno will star as an elite cop in Le Grand, French broadcaster TF1’s first English-language drama series.

The eight episode, €16 million series was announced at Mip TV. It will be shot in Paris, and iconic parts of the French capital will feature heavily in the series.

Based on an idea from Lagardère’s affiliate Atlantique Productions, the producer of the Borgia series, Le Grand has been created by Law & Order producer René Balcer, along with French authors Malina Detcheva and Franck Ollivier.

Germany’s SevenOne International is handling international distribution and is looking for presales at MIPTV. Broadcasters in Italy, Germany and the US have expressed an interest.

Talking about his first appearance in a TV series, Jean Reno, said it was “a very attractive challenge” adding he was seduced by the idea of making a series so closely linked to Paris and its famous landmarks.