In an era where a large part of the world’s musical production can be listened to in a click on streaming sites and where pirate sites make films and documentaries available in abundance, the very idea of no longer having access to some of the most famous series seems to seize a part of the French public with dread. The contract linking HBO, the American channel producing the biggest hits of its kind to the French platform OCS has come to an end and therefore a few dozen series, including many masterpieces, became inaccessible on December 31 last at midnight. Incidentally, this end of abundance (for subscribers to the platform) reminds us that the dematerialization of cultural goods, which is supposed to go beyond the finitude of DVDs, also has its limits: that of catalogs and the contracts giving access to them. If the idea of not being able to see McNulty again having a coffee in his car parked in a street in Baltimore, Tony Soprano on the couch of his shrink or Daenarys riding a dragon gives you palpitations, rest assured, solutions exist.
22 series of 2022 to remember
Rather “Vikings” than “Rome”…
First of all, OCS is far from being an empty shell, you can still taste the four delicious seasons of“Atlanta”to dive back into the too little known “Sentinels”delve into the intriguing “Irma Vep” of Olivier Assayas, do your aerobics with a smile on your face with “Tonyyoutou” and discover the very successful spy series “A Spy Among Friends”. Not to mention another highly anticipated series on January 19. « 7e sky ” by Alice Vial. Above all, the great missing from the platform have close or distant cousins, which we are happy to identify here.
You liked seeing the veneer of rich Californians crack in “Big Little Lies”, watch wealthy tourists sink in Hawaii and Taormina in both seasons “The White Lotus” always on OCS. If you miss the evil spirit of Larry David, there’s plenty to do with Ricky Gervais in the American version of “The Office” on Netflix.
Of course, fans of heroic fantasy can always console themselves with “House of the Dragons” the “Game of Thrones” prequel on OCS or with “The Rings of Power” on Prime Video. For fans of Lena Dunham’s “Girls” series, other young people are now discovering their sexuality (and in a more stylized and raw way) in “Utopia” on OCS.
If in the historical series, many paths have led to “Rome”, it is now on the side of “Vikings: Valhalla” you have to turn to Netflix. In addition, the totemic series of HBO, the “Sopranos” and “The Wire”, also have their descendants with on one side, the family of money launderers of“Ozarks” (Netflix) and on the other, “We Own This City” immersion with the corrupt cops of B-More. If you miss “Six Feet Under”, just wait “The night Laurier Gaudreault woke up”, the first series from director Xavier Dolan, which will arrive on Canal+ on January 23. Also, viewers who enjoyed the click of heels on the sidewalks of New York in “Sex & the City” will console themselves with those echoing on the cobblestones in Emily in Paris which can be appreciated at the fifth degree. The humor of the “Silicon Valley” series is found in “3615 Monica” with the first French geeks embarking on the adventure of the pink minitel and that of “Vice Principals” in “Parks and Recreation” available on MyCanal.
… rather “Paris Police 1905” than “The Knick”
The sarcasm of the super-rich in the first two seasons of “Succession” – the third being still present on OCS – is partly reflected in the war between billionaires of “Trillion” visible on the new Paramount + platform. Fans of the investigation of sordid crimes will go from “True Detective” to “Under the Banner of Heaven”, a mind-blowing dive into the Mormons with an amazing Andrew Garfield on Disney +. Or even from “The Night Of” to “The Staircase” on Canal+. You can also swap the pangs of a television program from “The Newsroom” for that “Occupation: Reporter” on Arte with Anna Torv, the revelation of “Mindhunters” as a presenter of JT of the 1980s. Or the outfit of a surgeon at the beginning of the XXe century “The Knick” for that of cop in the impressive French series “Paris Police 1905” broadcast on Canal+. It is also possible to take leave of vampires from “TrueBlood” to join teenagers struggling with the monsters of “StrangerThings” on Netflix.
To forget blood and death, we can take a puff of poppers close to that provided by “The Righteous Gemstones” with the promising creation “Louis 28” which will stage an uchronia in a monarchical France on France.tv Slash on January 27. Also, the spectator can take his mind off things by exploring a mysterious city like New Orleans in “Treme” via “Tokyo Vice”, a successful peregrination among the yakuza, broadcast on Canal+. And for those who like to travel in time, between the real and the virtual, we would not advise to spend the first two seasons of “Westworld” at ” Peripheral devices “ on Prime Video, a fairly similar series inspired by the work of the great science fiction writer, William Gibson.
In a word, it is useless to mourn the HBO fund which will not be long in migrating elsewhere, it is better to explore the dozens of other creations which have escaped your notice.
