I recently became aware of this show because one of their couples became viral on Twitter.

I stated watching it and I am amazed at their production values. It's out of this world lush!

Is anyone familiar with their production model? Does anybody watch regularly?

Yes I do.. it’s such an entertaining soap. 
U can tell that they in France really got back into their soap opera game!

The story revolves around the inhabitants of the town of Sète , on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the Etang de Thau . Their lives are punctuated by family rivalries, romances and scenes of daily life, but also by intrigues mixing police investigations, secrets and betrayals.

they have 1755 episodes. I’m currently on 1747.. 

This show even got a spin - off: Ici tout commence (which will celebrate their 1000th episode in like 2-3 weeks if I’m not mistaken. Last I watched was episode 982.. But they must be at 986.

To boost the evening, TF1 decided to try a hitherto unique formula: daily pre-evening fiction. Launched in summer, it responds to public demand, according to Marie Guillaumond, artistic director of French fiction at TF1. 
TF1 also brought back a soap Opera that started in 2004 and ended in 2022 on another network : Plus belle la vie!

 

 

Edited August 25, 20241 yr by AMCOLTLLover

10 hours ago, Aback said:

I recently became aware of this show because one of their couples became viral on Twitter.

Which couple?

I'm in France but never been appealed to French soap-operas. My mom watches ITC and both my parents watch DNA but never saw much. PBLV is having some good reviews since it came back.

There is a 4th daily soap: "Un si grand soleil" has been airing on France 2 for a few years and will move to France 3 soon.

21 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Which couple?

Jayane

@AMCOLTLLover where have you been able to watch the whole show, if I may? 

@FrenchFan although you're not watching, aren't you just amazed at their production values? I'd love to know what their business model is and why it can't apply to US soaps 😢

19 minutes ago, Aback said:

Jayane

@AMCOLTLLover where have you been able to watch the whole show, if I may? 

@FrenchFan although you're not watching, aren't you just amazed at their production values? I'd love to know what their business model is and why it can't apply to US soaps 😢

This article explains a lot of the production model for DNA (and I think is similar to those of PBLV, ITC and USGS). The budget is high with around 140.000 euros per episode and there are three teams filming scenes simultaneously. And a big difference is that the European soaps are broadcasted in prime time instead of daytime (with exception of the revival of PBLV), so that there's a bigger and broader audience.

48 minutes ago, Aback said:

Jayane

@AMCOLTLLover where have you been able to watch the whole show, if I may? 

@FrenchFan although you're not watching, aren't you just amazed at their production values? I'd love to know what their business model is and why it can't apply to US soaps 😢

I downloaded some episodes from various sources but since 2022 I’m watching them on TF1 directly with a VPN and a free account. I could pay for TF1+ and watch in advance but I don’t want to. Lol they have like every year on there.. 

DNA was so well Written in the beginning and It’s still great and I love the cast but I find myself more drawn to the spin off even though they from the spin off are kinda milking the gay trope tbh.

 

 

Edited August 26, 20241 yr by AMCOLTLLover

Is this show available with English subs somewhere?

1 hour ago, Aback said:

Jayane

Thanks!

11 hours ago, Ninejamb said:

This article explains a lot of the production model for DNA (and I think is similar to those of PBLV, ITC and USGS). The budget is high with around 140.000 euros per episode and there are three teams filming scenes simultaneously. And a big difference is that the European soaps are broadcasted in prime time instead of daytime (with exception of the revival of PBLV), so that there's a bigger and broader audience.

That's amazing. Thanks.
I mean, how big are their ratings? They must reach around 3 million people each night. US soaps are around 2 millions and they've always looked like crap in comparison 😕

Plus it's shocking to me they're using a real beach side town to shoot. What will happen when the prices of that area will sky rocket? It's just an interesting case.

 

11 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

DNA was so well Written in the beginning and It’s still great and I love the cast but I find myself more drawn to the spin off even though they from the spin off are kinda milking the gay trope tbh.

I've been watching a couple of episodes so far and it's turning out to be a bit silly.
They have a stalker right now who locked the main character and her child in a hotel room and gassed the room (acceptable CGI). Turns out the stalker used tear gas.
 

10 hours ago, Maxim said:

Is this show available with English subs somewhere?

I really don't think so. I myself watch it with French subtitles on and I'm not that fluent in French.

@Aback yeah I remember that. 😂 

there was another soap mentioned Un si grand soleil.. they have started to upload the full first year/season on YouTube and I have watched every episode so far.

if u haven’t tried it u should. No spoiler but there are some big twists and turns and I couldn’t believe that this was meant to be a soap opera.

DnA and ici are great. But DNA wouldn’t be my number 1 pick out of them. I prefer ici and plus belle la vie (especially the early years and since that serial killer storyline they had)

12 hours ago, Aback said:

Jayane

@AMCOLTLLover where have you been able to watch the whole show, if I may? 

@FrenchFan although you're not watching, aren't you just amazed at their production values? I'd love to know what their business model is and why it can't apply to US soaps 😢

Mmm to be honest, it is very usual for French series to be filmed this way: daytime, primetime. I don't think French people would watch otherwise. 

The setting is gorgeous yes  

1 hour ago, Aback said:

That's amazing. Thanks.
I mean, how big are their ratings? They must reach around 3 million people each night. US soaps are around 2 millions and they've always looked like crap in comparison 😕

Plus it's shocking to me they're using a real beach side town to shoot. What will happen when the prices of that area will sky rocket? It's just an interesting case.

You can find the current ratings of DNA here. And for a complete view, the ratings of PBLV:EPB, USGS and ITC. 

It's obvious that the interest from the audience has slightly declined over the years (all the soaps used to attract around 3 to 4 million viewers per episode, with PBLV in it's hey day around 6 million), but I think the ratings are still solid. And I think the episodes on TF1+ also attract many viewers who want to watch it on their own terms.

 

I think the commune of Sete is very happy with so many shoots on location and they'll encourage it, because it will attracts more visitors and tourists. For example: they used to shoot the scenes in restaurant Le Spoon on the real location in the first few years, but the show became so popular that fans wanted to visit the location. So they've rebuild the set in the studio, and transformed the real location into a place dedicated to the series.

4 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

there was another soap mentioned 

Un si grand soleil.. they have started to upload the full first year/season on YouTube and I have watched every episode so far.

if u haven’t tried it u should. No spoiler but there are some big twists and turns and I couldn’t believe that this was meant to be a soap opera.

DnA and ici are great. But DNA wouldn’t be my number 1 pick out of them. I prefer ici and plus belle la vie (especially the early years and since that serial killer storyline they had)

You're actually convincing me to try the other French soaps.
I'm beginning to see the silliness in DNA, but I still crave some daily drama to be hooked to and I'm drooling over the looks of the French soaps.

I also noticed how DNA includes so much diversity. There's two characters on a wheel-chair and one of them has a story that doesn't revolve around their wheel chair at all.
 

3 hours ago, Ninejamb said:

I think the commune of Sete is very happy with so many shoots on location and they'll encourage it, because it will attracts more visitors and tourists. For example: they used to shoot the scenes in restaurant Le Spoon on the real location in the first few years, but the show became so popular that fans wanted to visit the location. So they've rebuild the set in the studio, and transformed the real location into a place dedicated to the series.

I think it's amazing. There's so many empty, forgotten places in Europe that would thrive from initiatives like this. I wonder if over time Sete will be affected by overtourism and they'll have to change locations, who knows.

Almost a year after this topic started, two brand-new daily soaps have launched on French television. This brings the total to six (!) daily soaps in the country.

"Tout pour la lumière" (All for the Light) launched on TF1 on June 16th, and is a collaboration with Netflix. 90 episodes have been ordered so far. The series revolves around the artistic center Studio Lumière, which specializes in singing and dancing.

"Victoria Vargas returns to La Ciotat after several years. She turned her back on her family and on her singing career 20 years earlier after a tragedy. But when her mother is in a coma, she decides to return to her hometown. She discovered the Studio Lumière, run by her mother, where young artists train hard in the hope of making their dreams come true and living their passion for music and dance to the fullest. Will they be able to overcome sacrifices and rivalries to become the best?"

Sounds more like the plot of a telenovela to me, but hey, Ici Tout Commence has proven that a series centered around a specific location/training program can work perfectly. The series airs at 6:00 PM. The first episode attracted over a million viewers, and since then, the numbers have fluctuated between 750,000 and 1 million viewers per episode. For comparison, Ici Tout Commence, which airs immediately afterwards, averages 2 million viewers per episode.

The soap opera "Nouveau Jour" (New Day) launched on M6 on June 30th. Plans to launch a daily soap opera on that channel were already underway in 2022. So far, 130 episodes of the series have been ordered.

"After the disappearance at sea of Lucien Bartoli, owner of the city's beautiful 4-star hotel, his eldest daughter Louise took over the hotel with the help of her son Gabriel, thus harming her brother Tarek and her sister Audrey. However, the siblings are already torn apart by a very heavy family secret. The return to the city of Théa, Audrey's daughter, will totally reshuffle the cards. But the real threat arrives sooner than expected: the estate becomes the target of a strange raven. All the members of the Bartoli clan and their entourage will have to take their destiny into their own hands: for each one, it is time for a new beginning, a new day..."

This series is broadcast in prime time around 8:30 PM in the evening, right opposite Un Si Grand Soleil. The first episode attracted more than 1.5 million viewers, but it has since dropped to 790,000 viewers in the first week. The series now attracts an average of 750,000 - 1 million viewers per episode.

Edited July 31Jul 31 by Ninejamb