Attention fans of French-made series broadcast on France Télévisions! France 2 is set to air a crossover between the series Alexandra Ehle and Astrid et Raphaëlle. The heroines of these two successful dramas will come together in a very special investigation. Here's what we already know about this episode that promises to be memorable.
Astrid and Raphaëlle are going to Bordeaux.
For viewers who follow the series Alexandra Ehle on France 3 and Astrid et Raphaëlle on France 2, the idea of a crossover between these two shows might come as a surprise.
Indeed, even though both are police dramas, these French-made series take place in two different cities. The characters also operate in very different worlds, as Alexandra is a forensic pathologist at a medico-legal institute, while Raphaëlle and Astrid are respectively a police commander and a police judicial librarian.
To bring these three women together on the same case, the writers envisioned a grisly discovery: a human eye found in Paris and the rest of the body in Bordeaux. This unique situation is the starting point of a crime story that will lead the forensic pathologist from Bordeaux, Alexandra Ehle, and her brother Antoine to welcome the two Parisian investigators, Astrid and Raphaëlle.
The filming took place in autumn in Floirac.
To shoot this unprecedented crossover, the actors from both TV series met in the Lot department, at the filming location of Alexandra Ehle, the France 3 drama.
From September 20 to October 16, 2023, the entire team went to the site of the old Floirac observatory, an impressive setting that overlooks the Garonne Valley. It is on this vast land where the sets of the police station, the medical-legal institute, and Alexandra's house are located.
This episode promises to be particularly entertaining.
In this special 90-minute episode, the prosecutor decides that the two pairs of detectives, much to their chagrin, must solve the case together. This playful crossover is a gift from France Télévisions to the fans of the series Alexandra Ehle and Astrid et Raphaëlle.
The idea to bring together the duo Julie Depardieu and Bernard Yerlès on one hand with Sara Mortensen and Lola Dewaere on the other was conceived a year ago by the producers of these series, Jean-Sébastien Bouilloux and Christophe Carmona. The latter stated in an interview: “This stand-alone episode is an irreverent comedy around our characters, whose pairs intersect and mix.”
Even though Julie Depardieu herself admitted she did not know what a crossover was before this project, the actors have expressed in the media their joy at filming this episode together. "The world of Alexandra Ehle is lighter. We had to accept not doing Astrid et Raphaëlle," explained Sara Mortensen.
This crossover should energize the viewership.
With this project, France Télévisions can hope for a huge success in viewership as this crossover will bring together two of its most popular series among viewers.
In 2022, season 3 of the series Astrid and Raphaëlle averaged 4.96 million viewers on France 2, which is 27.3% of the overall audience according to Médiamétrie. Meanwhile, the new episode of Alexandra Ehle aired on November 29, 2022, on France 3 drew 4.57 million viewers, or 21.3% of the audience.
At the end of the filming of this first joint episode, France Télévisions has not yet specified whether a "return" crossover was planned in Paris, at the filming locations of the series Astrid and Raphaëlle... What is certain is that fans are going to love this special episode tailored to be both funny and appealing to the audience of both shows!