Which shows to watch on Netflix to learn French
Netflix offers loads of French shows and films that can help you learn French the way real French people speak it, but also offer a way in how they speak and give a peek into the culture. Furthermore, watching French cinema is a great way for so-called passive learning. That means learning without the tiresome feeling of your head filling up without that knowledge. In short, learning the easy way. And at BonjourBistroFrench we like the easy way. So we have made a list of the most relevant French shows on the popular streaming platform that will help you learn French in no time.
(Updated august 2024)
Lupin
Action – Adventure – Mystery – Comedic
Professional thief Assane Diop battles his past which made him turn to crime but also tries to better his life and that of his wife and kid. He is forced to resort to crime again from time to time and, inspired by the French master thief Arsène Lupin, invents intricate and funny ways to outwit the powerful Hubert Pellegrini and the police.
This all seems to be pretty serious, but Lupin is a mystery crime show that is really light and humorous and full of everyday conversation without being boring. Lupin is excellent for learning French because of the shifts between informal and formal language, which can be a bit disorienting for beginners but is very important in speaking French
The show is one of the most watched non-English series of all time on Netflix and has two seasons and in total 17 episodes. Each with a runtime of about 45 minutes to an hour, Lupin offers enough content to get to learn more French and rehearse what you already know.
Emily in Paris
Romantic comedy
An English and French fused show. You would expect this to maybe be only in English and a bit Hollywood centred, but it is anything but. Emily in Paris is very Europanized by the creators, with lots of French dialogue. This also makes it very suitable for learning French, although there is a risk you get swept away in the plot.
For those who don’t know the shows, Emily is an American marketeer who lives in Chicago but gets sent to France by her company to represent their interests at a French marketing agency they just acquired. But she doesn’t speak a word of French and has to deal with an at first not so welcoming attitude by her French colleague.
Emily in Paris start out as a romantic comedy but in a way turns into something that resembles a documentary of French culture. Although lots of things that you see in the show are stereotypical, you get a deeper peek into France and French culture.
Family Business
Comedy
I really like this one. Joseph’s family runs a butcher shop (boucherie), but he dreams of bigger. With marijuana quickly becoming more legal, he decides to turn the butcher shop into a marijuana café, which leads to all kinds of ridiculous situation.
Again, a funny comedy. Almost every idea that the characters have leads to an absurd situation. Still, it is very suitable for French learning. There is a lot of dialogue and it’s especially rewarding when you start to get the joke in French.
Dix pour cent (Call My Agent!)
Comedy – Drama – Office
Dix pour cent, or Call My Agent! in English, is an office based comedy drama show that focuses on the chaotic and often comedic world of talent agents in Paris. The show was a hit in France itself. The French loved its witty writing, sharp dialogue, and a unique blend of comedy and drama.
I laughed out loud when high-profile guest stars appeared, including real-life celebrities like Isabelle Huppert, Juliette Binoche, and Jean Dujardin, who were willing to poke fun at their public personas. This has added an extra layer of intrigue and entertainment for viewers, as they get a glimpse of how these stars might behave behind the scenes. For an international audience, the comedy could be a bit mellow. Still, the show gets high praise.
For learning French, Dix pour cent is especially suitable because there already are 4 seasons of it. Each season consists of six-hour long episode. Count that up, and you have about 24 hours of film consisting of formal and informal conversations involving the workplace. Mind you, if you want to learn how French talk in the workplace, this is not it.
La Forêt (The Forest)
Mystery – Thriller – Drama
La Forêt (The Forest) is a gripping French crime drama that aired first on France 3 in 2017 and is now available on Netflix. This six-part miniseries combines elements of psychological thriller and police procedural, set against the eerie backdrop of a small village surrounded by dense forests.
This is really for people who enjoy dark thrillers and mystery. The story begins with the disappearance of a teenage girl, Jennifer Lenoir, from the small, seemingly quiet village of Montfaucon. The disappearance sends shockwaves through the community and prompts an intense investigation led by Captain Gaspard Decker, who is new to the village. As the investigation unfolds, secrets begin to surface, revealing the dark undercurrents that run through the village.
So, as a thriller, there is not a lot of French conversation in this show compared to other shows listed There are also just six episodes, and it seems the story is not really finished. But still, if you’re a fan of mystery, this show is a must-see.
Braqueurs (Ganglands)
Crime – Thriller – Action
Braqueurs also known internationally as Ganglands is a French crime thriller series that debuted on Netflix in 2021. It’s a spin-off of the 2015 film of the same name, but expands on the story. The show revolves around Mehdi, an expert in heists, who is forced to steal from another gang to save his niece.
So another show about the criminal underworld. Can you spot a trend. The French love crime shows and this one is no different, although this show has a lot of action. The show has been compared to other popular crime dramas like “Money Heist” and “Gomorrah,” but with its own unique French twist. It’s dark atmosphere paints a bleak picture of the criminal underworld, where you can trust no one.
As all action shows and movies, the dialogue is not really that helpful in learning day to day French. All in all, the vocabulary used is rather simple. But this can also be a plus. If you just want some mindless repetition of French, you probably already know, Braqueurs can be superb. And it scores very high on French you would speak with your closest friends, which is sometimes hard to practice for foreigners.
La 7 Vies de Léa (The 7 Lives of Léa)
Comedy – Coming of age – Mystery
La 7 Vies de Léa, known in English as The 7 Lives of Léa, is a French supernatural drama series that premiered on Netflix in 2022. The series follows Léa, a 17-year-old girl who mysteriously finds herself waking up in the past, in the body of someone else. Over the course of seven days, Léa wakes up each morning in a different body, reliving the lives of various people who were connected in some way.
La 7 Vies de Léa consists of 7 episodes of about 45 minutes long, which is not a lot of content. But it makes this up in that La 7 Vies de Léa is a more mellow French show on Netflix, which arguably has a lot of action shows. The show is also interesting because it shows us how little action ripple into the present, affecting multiple lives in unforeseen ways.
En Place (Represent)
Comedy
En Place is a very funny comedy about youth worker Stéphane who comes into conflict with the mayor of the town. The whole situation leads Stéphane to entering into the presidential race of France, to end this social injustices he sees. On it’s own this could be a very serious story, but it’s actually very funny in the special way French comedy’s are.
What’s especially important for learning French is that there is a lot of talking in comedic shows. And you learn the subtleties of humour in another culture. Furthermore, En Place is very calm and gentle. No running or shouting, just Stéphane getting into absurd situations.
Can you even learn French by streaming TV shows?
Yes, you can! Just watching French tv, or passive learning, is a great way to keep yourself emerged in the language. But you have to do it right. Research suggests that, depending on your skill level, it’s important to use subtitles in the language you want to learn. So use French subtitles when watching French shows.
Also make it a little more active. Translate what you are watching and make notes on what you didn’t understand at first. Watch the same episode again after you search what unfamiliar words and phrases meant.
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