Munich, March 28, 2011. For the first time in a lead role, silver screen superstar Jean Reno (“Leon – The Professional”, “Da Vinci Code”) comes to television. In the new character-driven crime series “Le Grand”, Jean Reno plays an implacable and meticulous elite cop who stops at nothing to solve mysterious murder cases. Returning with this new series after the global success of the “Law & Order” franchise, Emmy-winning showrunner René Balcer stands for a modern look and feel. This will be the first drama series to be shot entirely on location in Paris and filmed in English. The eight one-hour episodes are produced by Atlantique Productions. SevenOne International secures the distribution rights.
“Combining the massive screen presence of a feature film star such as Jean Reno and the writing skills of one of America’s most successful showrunner is a truly amazing opportunity and yet another example of the potential and the range of international productions,” says Klaus Zimmermann, CEO of Atlantique Productions.
Jens Richter, Managing Director of SevenOne International says “Jean Reno. René Balcer. Hollywood star and first-class showrunner joining forces in a high-budgeted cop show located in Paris – simply mind-blowing. Working with such talents and Atlantique is a dream come true.”
About Le Grand
“Le Grand” is a one-hour close-ended episodic crime drama about Parisian police detective Joachim “Jo” Legrand aka Le Grand played by Jean Reno (“Leon – The Professional”). Each of “Le Grand’s” cases are tied to one of Paris’ iconic locations – Notre Dame, the Catacombs, the Place de la Concorde Obelisk and the Opera, highlighting the second star of the series: Paris. The series was created by Emmy Award winner René Balcer, in collaboration with Franck Ollivier and Malina Detcheva, who has written and produced over 200 Episodes of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, “Law & Order: UK” and “Law & Order: Los Angeles”.
