The Returned (French TV series)

The Returned

Company type	Television series
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	November 26, 2012 (2012-11-26)
Headquarters	France
Products	Television drama series

The Returned () is a French supernatural drama series developed by Fabrice Gobert, inspired by the 2004 French movie They Came Back (Les Revenants), directed by Robin Campillo. The show made its debut on Canal+ on 26 November 2012, with its initial season consisting of eight episodes concluding on 17 December. This first season received the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series in 2013.

The follow-up season, also comprising eight episodes, premiered on Canal+ on 28 September 2015. It was subsequently broadcast in the United Kingdom starting 16 October 2015 on More4, and later in the United States from 31 October 2015 on SundanceTV.

Premise

Set in a quiet mountain town in France, several individuals who had died reappear mysteriously alive. Among them are Camille, a teenager who perished in a bus accident; Simon, a groom who took his own life; Victor, a young boy killed during a burglary; and Serge, a convicted serial killer. As they strive to reintegrate into their former lives, strange phenomena unfold: frequent blackouts, an unexplained lowering of the reservoir's water level exposing dead wildlife and a submerged church tower, along with peculiar marks emerging on both the living residents and those who have returned.

Main characters

The "Returned"

• Yara Pilartz portrays Camille Séguret, a 15-year-old bus crash survivor who returns younger than her twin sister Léna
• Swann Nambotin plays Victor/Louis Lewanski, an eight-year-old boy who died three and a half decades earlier
• Pierre Perrier acts as Simon Delaître, age 23, who passed away on his wedding day ten years before
• Guillaume Gouix is Serge Garrel, a serial killer killed by his brother Toni seven years prior
• Ana Girardot features as Lucy Clarsen, a waitress who was murdered
• Laetitia de Fombelle portrays Viviane Costa, deceased for 34 years
• Ernst Umhauer appears as Virgil, a teenager murdered 35 years ago (season 2)
• Armande Boulanger plays Audrey Sabatini, Camille’s classmate who died in the same bus crash (season 2)
• Thomas Doret as Esteban Koretzky, victim of the bus accident (season 2)
• Mélodie Richard as Esther, killed seven years earlier (season 2)
• Michaël Abiteboul portrays Milan Garrel, father to Serge and Toni, deceased for 35 years (season 2)
• Vladimir Consigny plays Morgane, Lucy’s boyfriend/client who died 35 years ago

Others

• Jenna Thiam as Léna Séguret, Camille’s twin sister aged 19
• Anne Consigny plays Claire Séguret, mother to Léna and Camille
• Frédéric Pierrot as Jérôme Séguret, father of Léna and Camille
• Jean-François Sivadier portrays Pierre
• Grégory Gadebois as Toni Garrel, Serge’s brother
• Clotilde Hesme plays Adèle Werther, Simon’s former fiancée
• Brune Martin as Chloé Delaitre, daughter of Adèle Werther and Simon Delaitre
• Céline Sallette portrays Julie Meyer, physician attending to Victor and Michel Costa
• Claude Leveque as Michel Costa, widower of Viviane Costa
• Samir Guesmi plays Thomas Mézache
• Alix Poisson as Laure Valère
• Constance Dollé as Sandrine Sabatini
• Jérôme Kircher portrays Father Jean-François
• Laurent Lucas features as Berg

Recurring characters

• Bertrand Constant portraying Bruno
• Matila Malliarakis as Frédéric
• Guillaume Marquet in the role of Alcide
• Franck Adrien playing Yan Sabatini
• Carole Franck as Mademoiselle Payet
• Laurent Capelluto cast as an army major
• Alice Butaud in the role of Madame Lewanski
• Pauline Parigot as Ophélie
• Nicolas Wanczycki playing Lieutenant Janvier
• Aurélien Recoing as Etienne Berg

Production

The filming took place mainly across Haute-Savoie, with key locations including Annecy and nearby municipalities such as Seynod, Menthon-Saint-Bernard, Poisy, Cran-Gevrier, Sévrier, Annecy-le-Vieux, Veyrier-du-Lac, and Semnoz. A prominent site featured is the Barrage de Tignes. The initial season was shot during April and May 2012 under the direction of Fabrice Gobert and Frédéric Mermoud.

For the second season, helmed by Gobert alongside Frédéric Goupil, production was originally planned for February to March 2014 with a broadcast intended for November 2014. Nevertheless, delays in scriptwriting postponed filming until late 2014, resulting in a 2015 release. This season consisted of eight episodes, with shooting wrapping up on 7 April 2015.

Music

Scottish post-rock ensemble Mogwai composed the soundtrack. Guitarist John Cummings revealed that composition began prior to filming, utilizing early English-language scripts to capture the series' tone. On 17 December 2012, coinciding with the finale's broadcast, Mogwai issued a four-track sampler titled the Les Revenants EP. The complete soundtrack album, Les Revenants, was released on 25 February 2013. In August 2014, the band confirmed their involvement in scoring the second season.

Reception

The show garnered widespread critical praise. Season one holds a perfect 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, averaging 9.2/10 from 39 critics, noted for offering "a refreshing alternative to typical gory zombie narratives" through intelligent and unsettling storytelling. Season two sustains a strong 95% rating with a 9.1/10 average from 20 reviews, receiving acclaim for maintaining its eerie and expertly crafted plot.

French press underscored the series' significance: Le Monde credited it with rejuvenating fantasy television by exploring themes of the dead returning to life, while Libération likened its mood to David Lynch's Twin Peaks. In France, the show attracted an average audience of 1.4 million viewers over its eight episodes on Canal+.

In the United States, Metacritic assigned season one a score of 92/100 based on 28 reviews and season two an 82/100 from 11 reviews. Notably, author Stephen King expressed admiration for the series during a visit to Paris and publicly praised it via Twitter.

Accolades

In 2013, The Returned earned the Best Drama Series award at the 41st International Emmy Award. It also received a nomination for Best Television Series or Miniseries, Genre at the 18th Satellite Awards. The series was honored with a Peabody Award in 2014 and nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials at that year’s TCA Awards. Additionally, Fabien Adda and Fabrice Gobert were recognized with a nomination for Best Screenplay at the 2013 Bram Stoker Awards for their work on the episode "The Horde."

International broadcasts

The first season was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 starting 9 June 2013, marking the channel's first drama with full subtitles in over two decades, presented in French accompanied by English subtitles. Originally announced under the name Rebound, the series was retitled The Returned prior to its debut. To highlight the subtitled format, Channel 4 aired a commercial break entirely in French with English subtitles.

In the United States, SundanceTV launched Season 1 on 31 October 2013 and followed with Season 2 beginning 11 January 2014. The series made its Australian debut on SBS Two on 11 February 2014 and premiered in Canada on Space on 26 April 2014.

Before the release of Season 2, its initial two episodes were showcased at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the new Primetime initiative dedicated to television projects. Season 2 premiered on More4 in the UK on 16 October 2015 and later aired in the US on SundanceTV starting 31 October 2015.

Season 1

United Kingdom
Episode	Broadcast Date	Viewership (millions)
1	9 June 2013	1.91
2	16 June 2013	1.60
3	23 June 2013	1.53
4	30 June 2013	1.57
5	7 July 2013	1.50
6	14 July 2013	1.48
7	21 July 2013	1.51
8	28 July 2013	1.38

Season 2

United Kingdom			United States
Episode	Broadcast Date (UK)	Viewers (millions) UK	Broadcast Date (US)	Viewers (millions) US
9	16 October 2015	0.571	31 October 2015	0.123
10	23 October 2015	0.302	7 November 2015	0.100
11	30 October 2015	0.286	14 November 2015	0.127
12	6 November 2015	Template:TableTBA\	21 November 2015	0.082
13	13 November 2015	Template:TableTBA\	28 November 2015	0.092
14	20 November 2015	0.256	5 December 2015	0.072
15	27 November 2015	Template:TableTBA\	12 December 2015	0.062
16	4 December 2015	Template:TableTBA\	19 December 2015	0.072

Home media release

The initial season was made available on DVD in France on 20 December 2012 and subsequently released in the UK on 9 September 2013. In the US market, both DVD and Blu-ray editions were issued from 11 February 2014, with the second season following on home media on 17 December 2019.

Adaptations

An English-language remake titled They Came Back was revealed in May 2013 by Paul Abbott and FremantleMedia. However, by September of that year, Abbott had departed from the project, and development was assumed by A&E. In April 2014, A&E commissioned a ten-episode adaptation produced by executive producers Carlton Cuse and Raelle Tucker. The series premiered on 9 March 2015 but was discontinued after a single season.