France TV Distribution Brings to Market Season 2 of Endearing Spy Drama Comedy ‘The Aerobics Project’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Adding to its new scripted TV offer, France TV Distribution is launching sales on Season 2 of OCS Signature drama-comedy “The Aerobics Project” (“Toutouyoutou”), a fun, light dramedy set in a 1982 France in thrall of American pop culture, including aerobics.
Created by writing team Maxime Donzel and Géraldine de Margerie as well as David Coujard, the first season of “The Aerobics Project” began with dowdy fortysomething housewife Karine (Claire Dumas), living in Blagnac, a humdrum suburb of Toulouse, southern France, save for being the birthplace of French aeronautics. One day she stumbles open-mouthed on an aerobics class taught be a rangy instructor Jane (aLEXIA Barlier), who’s just arrived from the U.S. and takes a large interest in Project 37, a top-secret program run by Karine’s husband at the local aeronautics company.
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By Season 2, Karine has rumbled Jane as an industrial spy, has taken a job at the company and is forced to work with Jane. But their mission proves complicated until Tom Jane’s liaison officer also turns up to help.
Meanwhile, Karine learns empowerment and body confidence thanks to aerobics and Jane.
Off-beat and upbeat, Season 1 bowed in March 2022 at France’s Series Mania, where it won French pop group Feu! Chatterton, the best original music award for composing the 10-part series score. Season 2 was dropped by OCS in France on Aug. 27 as a now Canal+ OCS Signature show. The series is produced by Agat Films-Ex Nihilo, the latter behind Michel Hazanavicius’ Cannes Competition player “The Most Precious of Cargoes.”
“We wanted to do a show about aerobics. We’d read Jane Fonda’s autobiography. You can tell how amazing that moment was when all of a sudden there was a possibility for women to sweat,” Donzel said at a SeriesFest Q&A last year.
“We thought: ‘Let’s do something a little bit more fun – a spy thriller too. We also wanted to speak about female friendship and sorority and also of the French fascination for America,” he added.
Season 2 is again directed by Julien Patry (“Un entretien”) who has great fun playing up cheesier or campier aspects of the era, especially via hair style and make-up.
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