In the Shadow: the new political series from France 2 deciphered by its creators

How can we imagine a hyper-realistic political series that can still remain fictional? Pierre Schoeller and Gilles Boyer tell us.

The former Prime Minister and declared candidate for the future Presidential election co-wrote a series which begins this week on France 2. Obviously, it is an event. Adaptation of his novel co-written in 2011 with his Matignon advisor, Gilles Boyer, In the shadows recounts a campaign for the Elysée, from the right-wing camp, with its communicators and apparatchiks on mission. The director and showrunner, Pierre Schoeller, explains what he wanted to do, in the company of current MEP Gilles Boyer, who co-wrote the series with Edouard Philippe. Encounter.

FIRST: Why did you make Paul Francoeur a right-wing politician?
Gilles Boyer : In our book, there was no precise political color. It could work on paper, but for the series we had to set the plot in a political universe and that's why I suggested that it be that of the right. Black Baron had already explored the terrain of the left and I found it good that there was a series which clearly portrays the universe of the right. We therefore drew a parallel political world, with an opposition and everything that goes with it. We invented posters, divisive topics, campaign themes, etc. And in each episode, we describe the entourage, all the professions that flutter around through archetypes of people we have met, with Edouard (Philippe) in reality. But which do not directly refer to existing people. The general idea is to raise awareness of those who keep the machine running behind the headliners. Whether it's right or left ultimately.

Given your experience with Edouard Philippe, did you draw the most realistic political series possible?
Pierre Schoeller : Not necessarily. Because I think she's pretty crazy. There are lots of unrealistic things. It all depends on where you put the focus. There, we shed light on a team in the campaign, on a doubt that is taking hold. It's a series that tells what happens when you start to doubt your boss and his commitment. Who do I work for? Who is this man I thought I knew? This question is crucial in politics, because in politics, we can only rely on this: faith in a man to whom we give our life. So what do we do when we're wrong?

You won the César for Best Screenplay for L'Exercice de l'Etat (in 2011). Is politics an environment that particularly attracts you?
Pierre Schoeller : No. What interests me is filming present times. I find that politics is the ideal place to take a photograph of the era.
The State Exercise allowed me to be recognized by the political community. It is even studied at Science-Po. So I think he's showing something right.
Gilles Boyer : We found, with Edouard, that it was one of the most accurate films to have been written about the political world. As an informed spectator, with an almost clinical view of everything related to politics, we found the film very close to reality.

What were your influences for In the shadows ?
Pierre Schoeller : Obviously, there is At the White House (The West Wing) but writing an American series is not at all the same as a French series… Personally, I was very struck by Dont Look Up (by Adam McKay) which is visually very effective. Very disparate in its imagery. We are in a reality which operates a diffraction with the image sources. A reality which is used as an echo at the heart of the images. I really wanted to do that and play with the images in the series.

For In the Shadow, how did you go about decorrelating fiction from reality?
Pierre Schoeller : We must not confuse reality and current events. Our fiction does not wink at current events, we do not titillate what is happening in the news. On the other hand, we are in reality! The scene where Marie-France (Karin Viard) learns of her defeat is a real piece of real politics, this moment of fall, rarely shown on screen. It's something strong.

Moreover, the series takes place in a fairly traditional left/right divide, but a little outdated today, no?
Gilles Boyer : Your question would mean that a left/right duel is something incongruous, whereas for decades it was the norm. Maybe this will be the norm again tomorrow. It doesn't really matter to the story anyway. All this could have happened with other parties. We wanted to detemporalize the action and also say that deep down, the left/right divide has not disappeared forever. It seems improbable that it would come back today, and yet, we must remember that 10 years ago, it seemed improbable that it no longer existed!

Showing the reality of the environment, with its low blows, doesn't that risk fueling public distrust of politics?
Rock Schoeller : The times are like that. We are in a time of hyper-violence. And I believe that putting a bit of lucidity on screen, a bit of accuracy, can help cause the opposite. We provide benchmarks in a certain way, to better understand politics. Deconstructing the system a little does not devalue it, I believe.
Gilles Boyer: In politics, there are pretty things and less pretty things. When we look at Ten Percent, what image does it give of the middle of the actors at the end? We know him better. But do we come away with a better image of the world of agents? I'm not sure.

Why do political series, like Baron Noir or La Fière before Dans l'Ombre, always manage to create an event?
Pierre Schoeller : There is a real demand for politics. A deep need indeed. This is why fiction takes hold of politics so successfully. It allows the political world to reconnect with citizens in a certain way. Afterwards, my job is not to make people sympathetic or unsympathetic, but to explore humanity.

In the shadows, in 6 episodes, to be seen on France 2 from Wednesday October 30 and already in full on France.tv.