At The End, It's The Sea: The River Documentary Series Returns On France 5.
At the end is the sea returns every Wednesday in August on France 5 as part of a summer programming that invites you to travel. In this documentary series, the adventurer François Pécheux travels down rivers to their mouth, in order to meet those who live on their banks or on their waters. Are you ready to embark on journeys full of surprises? The only certainty is reaching the sea...
A globetrotter on the rivers of the world.
"At the end, there is the sea" is a documentary series, with its 6th season to be discovered on France 5 this summer. The channel will broadcast new episodes over five evenings, every Wednesday night in August at 9 pm.
In this program, journalist and presenter François Pécheux travels along the water to explore countries and discover their inhabitants and culture. The originality of this concept is to promote encounters while navigating on rivers.
On all continents, rivers are invitations to set sail. They are also the cradle of great civilizations, economic powerhouses, and exceptional ecosystems.
A minimalist film crew.
In the discovery programs of France 5, the filming teams are kept to a minimum. They often consist of just a director and a sound technician, sometimes both in one person and sometimes... no one else but the travelers themselves, like Nans and Mouts who travel alone with their six cameras in Nus et culottés!
In Au bout c'est la mer, the filming team consists of only two people, plus a fixer-translator who knows the visited country very well.
Regarding the organization of these trips, François Pécheux says "juggling between preparing and not over-preparing", in order to leave room for discovery and the unexpected. During his travels, the host and journalist looks for beautiful stories to experience and share with the viewers.
Traveling under the sign of freedom
These shootings around the world also offer a lot of freedom to the adventurers who embody these programs.
François Pécheux is delighted and declares, "We live our journey in a very fluid way, it's an unprecedented comfort." His river adventures leave plenty of room for improvisation and surprises in order to not miss out on any beautiful encounters. It is often the sincere exchanges with the people he meets along the way that give flavor to these travel journals on the small screen.
Regarding the concept of "Au bout c'est la mer," the host explains, "I think that no matter which river, you can make the same journey ten times and it will never be the same adventure. The stories that rivers tell us go beyond our imagination and are much deeper than we could imagine."
Even on a French river like the Loire or the Seine, one can be amazed and stunned by the beauty of the landscapes that unfold. In the upcoming episode airing on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, François Pécheux offers a journey through France along the Seine. He starts from Source-Seine in Bourgogne Franche-Comté for a 770 km trip along the river until its estuary in Le Havre.
Fans of these river adventures can then enjoy a rerun at 9:50 PM dedicated to the Rio Sao Francisco, a Brazilian river that stretches over 3000 km!
Travel journals are popular.
In 2023, France 5 is focusing on adventure programs throughout the summer to take viewers on a journey who haven't taken a vacation. The channel invites you to travel on mythical rivers with François Pécheux or on trains unlike any other with Philippe Gougler.
And if you prefer even more original adventures, you can hit the road naked with Nans and Mouts in Nus et culottés or embark on a journey with hairdressing equipment while following a traveling hairdresser in Ambre coiffure, le salon voyageur!
Despite their differences, all these programs have in common to show another idea of travel, getting closer to people, and their success remains strong over the years. Season 13 of the show Des trains pas comme les autres recorded a record audience of over 1.6 million viewers on July 20, 2023. As for the adventures of Nans and Mouts in Nus et culottés, they attracted over a million curious viewers on July 17th.
You can find the documentary collection Au bout c'est la mer on Wednesdays August 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th, 2023. In the fall, the "father" of all these adventurers, Antoine de Maximy, will celebrate the 20th anniversary of his famous show J'irai dormir chez vous by offering a trip to Paraguay. By boat or backpack, the TV hosts will show you the world!
