French production company Pernel Media is known for its factual TV output, from Legends of the Pharaohs, Ancient Superstructures, and Rise of the Vikings to Ghettos in the Holocaust, Secret Gardens of Pompeii, and The Real War of Thrones. Now, the Paris- and London-headquartered company is gearing up for a push into the traditional drama space with the launch of The Au Pair, starring Netflix’s Lupin actress Ludmilla Makowski and British screen icon David Suchet, famous for portraying Hercule Poirot, on Paramount Global’s Channel 5 in the U.K. in the coming weeks.
Pernel’s first drama sees Suchet, in his first TV role in years, play George, a diabetic man who moves next door to his daughter Zoe Dalton, portrayed by Sally Bretton (Death in Paradise, Beyond Paradise). Zoe seems to have it all, including a successful husband in Chris, played by Kenny Doughty (Vera, Stella). But when Chris hires au pair Sandrine (Makowski), the young French woman triggers an unsettling shift in the household. The show, written by Michael Foott (Desperate Measures) and Andy Bayliss (The Good Ship Murder) and directed by Oonagh Kearney (Vardy v Rooney), “delves deep into the complexities of family, trust and hidden truths, against the backdrop of the picturesque British countryside,” according to a Channel 5 synopsis.
The idea for the show, the first episode of which Pernel Media will show to buyers on Monday during the London Screenings, though came from Pernel founder and CEO Samuel Kissous. He is not only a fan of drama series but also felt his company getting closer to drama productions over time.
Take the Game of Thrones-inspired The Real War of Thrones, for example. “It is made like a drama, with costumes and sets, makeup and actors reenacting history,” Kissous tells THR. “It was similar with the Pharaohs series of which we produced three seasons, and we were shooting in movie studios and had a lot of special effects. So we have been doing drama docs, and we made them with people who came from drama, including directors and actors. The main difference was that the scripts were not exactly like drama scripts because these shows were a hybrid of drama and documentary.”
But taking the step to proper drama seemed logical to him. “I was really keen to transition from drama docs to drama,” Kissous explains. “And I thought I could replicate our financing model of finding ideas that work well internationally and feel organic. People don’t want ‘Euro pudding’ and other stuff that doesn’t feel organic but forced.”
So, the Pernel boss asked himself a basic question: “What is a story that is really going to work if I want to do drama?” He talked to director Chris Holt who has worked on Pernel projects. “I asked him if we can we come up with a story that works between England and France where the characters have a reason to go from England to France or the other way around?” A story about an au pair fit that bill.
Samuel Kissous (Courtesy of Pernel Media)
But funding projects is widely seen as having become more challenging, so Kissous also thought outside the box in that regard. “Instead of waiting for my team to gather all the financing, I just said let’s give a distribution partner, 20 or 30 percent or so, depending on the project, and off we go,” he tells THR. In the case of The Au Pair, Canal+ has the show for France, Channel 5 for the U.K., and ITV Studios is distributing it internationally.
In addition, Irish company MK1 Studios is a co-producer on the series, which was shot in Ireland, which offers production incentives. “The parts that play in (the picturesque English region known as) the Cotswolds were actually (shot) one hour south of Dublin,” shares the Pernel CEO. “But I’ve had even British people look at the show and tell me: ‘Wow, the Cotswolds look really pretty’.”
Kissous said Pernel could leverage existing relationships and trust that it has built through its unscripted work to bring together its various partners. “It only works if, from the beginning of the process, the whole DNA of your creation is about working internationally,” he explains. “Not every topic can work for the whole world, but you need to know that this is going to work for European broadcasters, and maybe this one can also work for the U.S. And it also means you need very refined knowledge of what distributors are looking for and what broadcasters are looking for in different territories. We cannot meet with everyone everywhere, but we do try to have a direct relationship with channels in the U.K., in the U.S., in Germany, in Australia, a little bit in Italy, a little bit in China, a little bit in Japan. We have those relationships.”
Concluded Kissosu: “So from all my background in the formats industry, where things are incredibly international and everybody knows everybody, you know exactly what’s going on everywhere and it’s about the international trends, I thought let’s apply this and do this in drama as well.”
So, it’s not by chance that Pernel’s first drama was commissioned by the team at Channel 5 in Britain. “Channel 5 was one of the first commissioners in the U.K. that commissioned a documentary from us, which was not even commissioned by a French broadcaster,” the CEO recalls. “I know the challenges for Channel 5 and what they are looking for. I know that they may not put as much money as some others into their drama production, but they are very successful in terms of ratings. They do really, really well. And they tend to sell well internationally because they are quite commercial. So I knew that their model would work for us and international distribution partners.”
How did ITV Studios come in? “We’ve been working with them for five years now on factual series, and it’s been very successful for them and for us,” says Kissous. “So there was, again, a strong, trusted relationship.”
The goal for The Au Pair for all involved was to make it “elevated in terms of casting and production value,” Kissous tells THR. “That was my promise to them. And in the end, my partners must be able to trust me to deliver on that vision.”
Casting was key to ensuring the show’s broad and international appeal. “Vera is airing everywhere around the world. So, Kenny is a face that a lot of people know in the U.K. but also internationally. Sally Bretton is known for Death in Paradise, which also airs around the world, and Beyond Paradise,” says Kissous. “Ludmilla is maybe not a huge name yet but is in Lupin. And then, of course, David Suchet. I think he liked the script. And we were lucky to get him He’s such a joy to work with. He’s not only so talented, but every time he’s on set, he lights up everything, he makes it more interesting, and he’s also an incredibly kind human being. So being around him made everyone happy, which brought really good energy to the set.”
Kissous is ready to do more Pernel dramas. “We’re getting more traction with scripted stuff,” he explains. But he won’t do too many dramas too fast. “I built the company like a house, brick by brick. So I’m replicating that and all I’ve learned with scripted drama. Pernel initially did formats, then we moved into documentaries and factual. Then we moved into drama docs, and now we have moved into scripted.”
The feedback on The Au Pair has been very positive. “We are already successful in the sense that we got a great cast and the show looks really good,” says Kissous. “That’s the feedback from everyone. Yes, you (made good) on your promise that you would overdeliver with good production value, a good story, and good casting. So my partners are happy, which means they want to do it again. That’s how you build a business.”
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