Exit the grayness of the Parisian premises of the DGSE, and make way for the African sun: the producer of the successful series The Legends Office announced to AFP, Tuesday, November 5, 2024, that a project was “in development” to continue the series following in the footsteps of French agents working under false identities… but this time, on the African continent.
Africa, a “good playground”
“The working title is The Africa Office. We already have several scenarios, but for the moment it remains a project in development,” declared Alex Berger in Abidjan, where he is participating in the International Audiovisual Content Exhibition (Sica). “France’s historic relationship with West African countries is a good playing field,” he explains.
“France’s geopolitics points more towards Africa, after Françafrique, the events which occurred in Niger, Burkina or Mali, these are things that interest us,” he added in reference to the three Sahelian countries which have experienced putsches in recent years and have turned their backs on France.
An international success
Canal+ flagship series The Legends Office followed for five seasons – the last already dates back to 2020 – the adventures of French agents undercover abroad, in countries like Iran or Syria, in particular. It was sold in more than a hundred countries and was praised for its realism by the DGSE, the French intelligence services, where its fictional characters operate.
“The idea was to be able to leave enough time between the two series so as not to abandon a simple sequel. I don’t think it will be a season six… though! “, says Mr. Berger. The producer, however, refused to give the start date of possible filming or the precise country in which the plot would take place.
Our “Series” file
“When we started developing the idea in 2021, there were five plausible countries for our history,” explains Mr. Berger, specifying that the list is now reduced after the Sahelian putsches. “We are in no hurry. The obsession for us is to be plausible and credible,” he added, specifying that we have “three projects which have African countries as their center of gravity”.
A US remake with Michael Fassbender and Richard Gere
At the same time, The Agencyan American remake of ten episodes, will be broadcast in the United States from the end of November 2024 and soon in France on Canal+, without a precise date having been revealed. Michael Fassbender will play a CIA agent forced to leave his undercover life and return to the London office, whose head is played by Richard Gere. “It’s fantastically well done, it’s very serious,” said Alex Berger, who attended the filming.
