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\u2018Samuel\u2019 creator \u00c9milie Tronche<\/p>\nAfter becoming an unexpected breakout hit on social media and European public TV, Samuel is finally heading to a global audience, with a Netflix premiere date set for February 5.<\/p>\n
Today, only a couple of weeks before the show\u2019s worldwide arrival, we\u2019re exclusively debuting the official English-subtitled trailer for the animated micro-series.<\/p>\n
Created, written, and directed by \u00c9milie Tronche, Samuel is a coming-of-age story told through the diary of a 10-year-old boy growing up in the early 2000s. Across 21 short episodes, each under seven minutes, the series captures Samuel\u2019s daily life, anxieties, and complicated feelings for a girl named Julie. The show\u2019s sketchbook black-and-white 2D style and pared-down animation stand in sharp contrast to the emotional depth of its mature storytelling.<\/p>\n
The series is produced by Les Valseurs in co-production with French public broadcaster Arte, Pictanovo, Solent, Pikkukala, RTVE, and 3Cat. Originally released online, Samuel quickly gained traction on TikTok and Instagram, where its short format and forthright emotional tone struck a chord with viewers of all ages.<\/p>\n
Tronche tells us that the series\u2019s universality was not something she planned from the outset.<\/p>\n
\u2018Samuel\u2019 creator \u00c9milie Tronche<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know if it was conscious or not at the beginning,\u201d she says. \u201cThe first thing that I wanted to do was something for me and also for my family. I wanted my parents and my sisters to like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the story is clearly set in the early 2000s, she deliberately avoided heavy-handed period signifiers. \u201cI didn\u2019t want it to be too referential. I just wanted to give little hints, to be more universal,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I didn\u2019t want it to be something too nostalgic about that time period.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project began in 2020 as a solo experiment, just before lockdown, while Tronche was finishing work on a more traditionally produced short film. With a bit of free time and minimal resources, she decided to make something based on her storytelling instincts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI decided to do something really, really fast, without too much thinking, without too much production,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThat\u2019s why there are no colors, and it\u2019s really simple lines.\u201d She animated alone, recorded all the voices herself for the original French version, and posted the first episodes directly to her Instagram account.<\/p>\n
What began as a side project quickly attracted attention from both producers and broadcasters. \u201cI thought it was always going to be something that I was doing on the side,\u201d Tronche says. \u201cI thought producers couldn\u2019t be interested in it because it was too simple.\u201d<\/p>\n