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I have a soft spot for French miniseries, of which more and more have been produced in recent years.
My favorite French miniseries is from 2024 and is called "Tout cela je te le donnerai," English title: "All This I Will Give To You." It's based on the Spanish-language book "Todo esto te daré" by Dolores Redondo, for which she received the Premio Planeta, the most prestigious literary prize in the Spanish-speaking world, in 2016. Despite all the praise for the novel, one can't help but wonder if Dolores Redondo might have been watching reruns of "Falcon Crest" while conceiving her book, because exciting intrigues within a family in the wine business aren't exactly new to soap opera fans.
For the miniseries "Tout cela je te le donnerai," the plot of "Todo esto te daré" was relocated from Spain to France. Here is the starting plot:
Aymeric Fabre de Castelmore dies in a car accident in Provence during the night. At dawn in Paris, the police wake Goncourt Prize-winning writer Manuel Ortigosa to inform him of his husband's death, whom he believed to be in Brussels.
Contacted by Maître Grignan, Aymeric's notary, Manuel drives to Peyrolles-en-Provence to attend the reading of the deceased's will. The reception from the family, led by Cécile and Joffrey Fabre de Castelmore, is icy: the family, unaware of Manuel's existence, initially reacts with homophobia, before succumbing to shock and anger when Maître Grignan explains that Manuel becomes the sole owner of the Fabre de Castelmore estate, as Aymeric had cleared all the family's debts and mortgages a few years earlier.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Richard Saugier and medical examiner Ophélie Weiss made observations that led them to question the accidental nature of the death: Aymeric Fabre ran off the road on a straight stretch without any skid marks, his car had traces of white paint on the rear, and his body bore a suspicious mark on his abdomen. But the prosecutor quickly closed the case as a simple accident as soon as the victim's name was known.
Faced with the contempt of the Fabre de Castelmore family and given the past Aymeric had hidden from him during their twelve years together, Manuel Ortigosa informs Maître Grignan that he is renouncing the inheritance. However, he changes his mind after a meeting with the lieutenant and the medical examiner, who share their suspicions: the lieutenant believes Aymeric's car was pushed and thrown off the road by another vehicle, and the medical examiner suspects the abdominal wound could have resulted from a stab wound. But she was unable to complete her autopsy due to the prosecutor's intervention.
With the help of Richard Saugier and Ophélie Weiss, Manuel gradually uncovers the dark secrets of the Fabre de Castelmore family and finally understands why Aymeric made him his sole heir.
The murder case could have been a fantastic starting plot for a long-running soap opera, because the cast and characters are great. "Tout cela je te le donnerai" was a success in France and Belgium, with every episode reaching number 1 in the timeslot.
If you ever have the chance to watch "Tout cela je te le donnerai", take it; it's wonderfully soapy.
My favorite French miniseries is from 2024 and is called "Tout cela je te le donnerai," English title: "All This I Will Give To You." It's based on the Spanish-language book "Todo esto te daré" by Dolores Redondo, for which she received the Premio Planeta, the most prestigious literary prize in the Spanish-speaking world, in 2016. Despite all the praise for the novel, one can't help but wonder if Dolores Redondo might have been watching reruns of "Falcon Crest" while conceiving her book, because exciting intrigues within a family in the wine business aren't exactly new to soap opera fans.
For the miniseries "Tout cela je te le donnerai," the plot of "Todo esto te daré" was relocated from Spain to France. Here is the starting plot:
Aymeric Fabre de Castelmore dies in a car accident in Provence during the night. At dawn in Paris, the police wake Goncourt Prize-winning writer Manuel Ortigosa to inform him of his husband's death, whom he believed to be in Brussels.
Contacted by Maître Grignan, Aymeric's notary, Manuel drives to Peyrolles-en-Provence to attend the reading of the deceased's will. The reception from the family, led by Cécile and Joffrey Fabre de Castelmore, is icy: the family, unaware of Manuel's existence, initially reacts with homophobia, before succumbing to shock and anger when Maître Grignan explains that Manuel becomes the sole owner of the Fabre de Castelmore estate, as Aymeric had cleared all the family's debts and mortgages a few years earlier.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Richard Saugier and medical examiner Ophélie Weiss made observations that led them to question the accidental nature of the death: Aymeric Fabre ran off the road on a straight stretch without any skid marks, his car had traces of white paint on the rear, and his body bore a suspicious mark on his abdomen. But the prosecutor quickly closed the case as a simple accident as soon as the victim's name was known.
Faced with the contempt of the Fabre de Castelmore family and given the past Aymeric had hidden from him during their twelve years together, Manuel Ortigosa informs Maître Grignan that he is renouncing the inheritance. However, he changes his mind after a meeting with the lieutenant and the medical examiner, who share their suspicions: the lieutenant believes Aymeric's car was pushed and thrown off the road by another vehicle, and the medical examiner suspects the abdominal wound could have resulted from a stab wound. But she was unable to complete her autopsy due to the prosecutor's intervention.
With the help of Richard Saugier and Ophélie Weiss, Manuel gradually uncovers the dark secrets of the Fabre de Castelmore family and finally understands why Aymeric made him his sole heir.
The murder case could have been a fantastic starting plot for a long-running soap opera, because the cast and characters are great. "Tout cela je te le donnerai" was a success in France and Belgium, with every episode reaching number 1 in the timeslot.
If you ever have the chance to watch "Tout cela je te le donnerai", take it; it's wonderfully soapy.