Lupin writer François Uzan went to great lengths to secure the authenticity of upcoming Netflix comedy Recalé.
The storied scribe revealed at Series Mania this afternoon that he went undercover in a French school, or lycée, in order to learn what makes modern teachers tick.
He described Recalé, which translates into English as “Failed,” as a “goofy infiltration comedy” about a teacher who infiltrates a mob. Starring Alexandre Kominek, Recalé is shooting at the moment in Lille, where Series Mania is taking place.
“I wanted to have some social roots for Recalé so I went undercover in a lycée in France,” said Uzan. “I told teachers that this will be about infiltration and [will be] goofy but when we see teachers on screen I want them to be realistic. So [the show] will talk about what it means to be a teacher right now, problems of budget, what it means to be on strike, how hard it is to deal with kids, and, more importantly, parents.”
Uzan, who is one of France’s best known writers, also spoke to the success of Omar Sy-starrer Lupin, which is seen as one of the biggest hits of the non-English-language wave alongside Squid Game and Money Heist.
He credited “great IP, great actor and a great location” as crucial to the triumph of Lupin. “Omar has something that I felt the first time he entered the room,” he said of Sy. “It is something about his presence, his style, I think also it is that he is an outcast.”
Uzan was speaking at Series Mania on the same day as Olympic Ceremony director Thomas Jolly and Heartstopper EP Patrick Walters.
