On Tuesday, April 26, France 3 is broadcasting a TV movie entitled Poulets grillés, adapted from the eponymous crime novel. This police comedy with an offbeat sense of humor features a hilarious squad of broken arms. This one-off TV movie could well become a recurring series if viewers are satisfied.
Police officers like no other
The commander Anne Capestan, former star of the BRI of Lyon, was put in the closet following a serious mistake.
Back after her dismissal, she is entrusted with the direction of a mysterious 4th brigade, whose premises are located in the basement...
In Lyon, this brigade is the Roasted Chicken unit. This is where alcoholic, depressive and maladjusted policemen, considered cumbersome by their hierarchy, are transferred.
This team of broken arms is in charge of the investigations that the other brigades do not have time to solve. It is however with these strange birds that the commander Anne Capestan will be brought to solve the most important robbery case of the moment.
It should be noted, by the way, that this TV crime movie mixed with whimsical comedy is the adaptation of the novel Grilled Chickens by Sophie Hénaff, published in 2015 and awarded the Prix Arsène Lupin for best crime novel 2015 and the Prix Polar en séries 2015.
Colorful characters
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The strong point of Poulet grillés lies of course in its gallery of colorful characters. We find, hold on to your hat, a depressive widower, a sickly shy man, a jinx and a writer queen of erotic thrillers!
These cops, each more zany than the last, have of course been sidelined because of their peculiarities.
This bunch of anti-heroes, who are sorely lacking in resources but not in ideas, will still manage to solve a murder as they set out on the trail of a gentleman burglar worthy of Arsene Lupin!
A brilliant cast
To interpret this beautiful brochette of grilled chickens, we can count on seasoned actors who serve this burlesque scenario with brio.
The casting is promising, with faces well known to viewers, starting with Barbara Cabrita in the lead role.
She plays the commander Anne Capestan transferred to her great despair at the head of this team of broken arms.
In addition to the charm of Barbara Cabrita, this fiction benefits from the capital sympathy of its interpreters: Hubert Delattre (seen in particular in the series Zone Blanche and Alexandra Ehle), Marie-Armelle Deguy, Mohamed Belhadjine and Marie Petiot.
We will see them solve a big case combining several robberies, an ace of Disguise and the unexplained murder of a Maltese.
Viewers will also recognize Joyce Bibring and Samuel Labarthe in secondary roles.
Samuel Labarthe, well known for playing the commissioner Swan Laurence in Agatha Christie's Little Murders, will adopt the various disguises of the gentleman burglar for this drama.
Against all odds, these cops with a lead will manage to solve the investigation with an offbeat humor that can seduce or annoy.
If viewers are at the rendezvous, this TV movie could be transformed into a series pilot: we could therefore soon see this merry band of nickel-plated feet at work on France 3.