{"id":639397,"date":"2026-10-07T19:22:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T19:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/639397\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T19:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T19:22:14","slug":"r91-series-brings-murder-mystery-aboard-french-aircraft-carrier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/639397\/","title":{"rendered":"‘R91’ Series Brings Murder Mystery Aboard French Aircraft Carrier"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tMediterranean Sea, present day. France\u2019s nuclear aircraft carrier R91<\/a> \u2013 Charles de Gaulle aka \u201cLe Charles\u201d has just set sail on a threat-assessment strategic mission. When a crew member is found dead and another goes missing, military investigator Paul Fischer (Alban Lenoir, \u201cLost Bullet\u201d) is rushed aboard. With second-in-command Helena Duval (Elodie Yung, \u201cMarvel\u2019s Daredevil,\u201d \u201cThe Cleaning Lady\u201d), they must hunt for the truth before the killer strikes again in the dark corners of the floating fortress.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith 2,000 souls on board, the stakes are high and suspicion spreads, as the mission turned murder investigation slowly transforms into a global security crisis.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tHenri Debeurme, co-creator, co-writer, producer of \u2018R91\u2019. Credits Fanta Kaba<\/p>\n

\n\tA Series Mania winner \u201cR91\u201d marks the first ever co-acquisition between Amazon Prime Video<\/a> France and leading free-to-air network M6<\/a>, with international sales handled by SND<\/a>. It was born at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024, as producer, co-creator and co-writer Henri Debeurme at Next Episode Productions, part of UGC Group, exited the world premiere of \u201cTop Gun: Maverick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs he recalls to Variety ahead of the series\u2019 own world premiere in La Rochelle Fiction Festival<\/a>, his childhood desire to make such high-end productions in France was triggered once again by the Top Gun\u2019s striking imagery, and by a chance encounter with Brigitte Maccioni, CEO of UGC Group. Maccioni, who had been part of the French Navy citizen reserve, had worked on \u201cLe Charles\u201d and met a few people during her time aboard the ship.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe opened a crack in the door for me, and when you find doors like that, you have to push and open them,\u201d recalls Debeurme. \u201cAnd that gave me the impetus to imagine a series that could take place on an aircraft carrier such as the Charles de Gaulle.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHowever, the seasoned creative took his time, building his script with co-writers, co-creators Mathilde Arnaud and Yoann Legave, and discussing with broadcasters and partners at M6, UGC and Prime Video.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe first constraint of such an endeavor is a narrative one,\u201d he explains. \u201cWriting a story set on a warship brings specific challenges, as you have to find plot twists within this defined setting. Series set entirely in a single location are not that common, and they\u2019re often relying on claustrophobia to add tension, such as submarine series or family dramas.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHe adds: \u201cWith \u2018R91,\u2019 we tried something new. A spectacular, closed-room drama also opened to the outside world. Ultimately, the aircraft carrier setting was more of an advantage than an restraint, as we discovered it to be a true floating village, open to the outside world, the sea and the sky. It became a source of ideas, inspiration, and unexpected turns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEven though \u201cR91\u201d is entirely fictional, the teams wanted credibility and authenticity. And with the ambition of shooting almost the entire series at sea, it was key to have the French Navy on board. Debeurme approached them after refining his concept with his teams and broadcasting partners, and the Navy authorities eventually proved easy to convince. \u201cThey were welcoming, without willing to control us in any way. It was accompaniment during the whole process, as long as we didn\u2019t interfere with their actual daily jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWith that in mind, Debeurme and his teams set out to build the most intricate, complex shooting schedule he\u2019s ever created. \u201cWe had authorization to board the ships during military exercises, and we filmed for 15 days at sea, notably on the Charles, on the sole condition we didn\u2019t disrupt their movements, and that we brought everything we needed with us. The preexisting exercises we joined, such as bridging and catapult launches, were planned a long time before, and we had to match their schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSchedules that would change on a daily basis. By the end of shooting, not a single day had gone as planned, adds Debeurme. \u201cWe basically had to film a complex, fictional series as we would a documentary, doing a 10-minute take out of the blue because an helicopter is landing, and we want actors to be getting out of it, or saying their lines in front of it. Sometimes, we\u2019d have to shoot with aircrafts landing or being launched on top of us, which makes tremendous noise. To be honest, it was completely insane and ended up being the most complicated shooting I\u2019ve ever done in my entire career. We had to constantly adapt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThese conditions eventually bonded the teams, as well as helped them connect with the sailors themselves. \u201cTheir flexibility and open-mindedness helped us and made us feel like we were fully immersed. In some ways, film crews and navy crews share similarities. Both are very ordered collectives where everyone is an expert in their field, and we all are equally passionate about our jobs.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tUsing generative AI or stock footage was never Debeurme\u2019s intention. \u201cWe filmed on different ships and also built sets in a studio for locations that were too cramped, inaccessible or too complex for VFX. But the vast majority took place on real warships, with working sailors. We wanted to film real people, real things. This authenticity was always at the core of our process, and that involves humans. French, world-class talents and artists that helped us bring this project to life with a fraction of the budget of U.S. dramas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tExpanding on French drama series, Debeurme praised his colleagues and fellow artists presenting audacious, imaginative projects in La Rochelle. \u201cThroughout my career, I\u2019ve had many projects where people told me it was something that could be done only in the US. \u2018A series set on an aircraft carrier? No, we are terrible at that,\u2019 people would say. But I actually disagree. I think we have exceptional teams in France, powerful imagination and a wealthy pool of talent, and we shouldn\u2019t be afraid to try new things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cR91\u201d showcases this boldness, which shone also in La Rochelle with premium period dramas such as \u201cSwapped,\u201d<\/a> unique in its own way. <\/p>\n

\n\tAs he heads to the festival, Debeurme is incredibly thankful for all who helped bring this crazy dream project to life. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge source of pride, and a childhood dream of mine. And for me, it still is all about movies and TV series that make my dreams come true. As a writer-producer on this show, I\u2019m glad to see I could pull off such an ambitious project, and that having these two roles in a European context is possible. And beyond my own experience, it also proves that we\u2019re still in a world where, even if matters are very difficult and the industry is under a lot of pressure, you can still do great things when you use your imagination and conviction.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing up its world premiere, \u201cR91\u201d will debut on Prime Video in the near future, before airing on M6.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mediterranean Sea, present day. France\u2019s nuclear aircraft carrier R91 \u2013 Charles de Gaulle aka \u201cLe Charles\u201d has just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":639398,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[146,85,46,288400,278135,28178,11098,288401,288402,275522],"class_list":["post-639397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-la-rochelle-fiction-festival","tag-m6","tag-mipcom","tag-prime-video","tag-r91","tag-snd","tag-unifrance-rendez-vous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}