France 2 is broadcasting a new episode of “Capitaine Marleau” with Corinne Masiero, this Friday April 15. The series regularly tops TV ratings on Friday nights.
Captain Marleau will investigate the murder of a figure skater in the episode broadcast this Friday evening on France 2. A case much more complex than it seems for the incorrigible policewoman embodied by Corinne Masiero.
A series born from a TV movie
The “Captain Marleau” series is derived from the TV movie “Between winds and tides” by Josée Dayan with Nicolas Garcia and Murieel Robin in December 2014. This is where the character of the gendarmerie captain Marleau made his appearance for the first time. Not really a diplomat, a follower of dark humour, a chapka on his head, Captain Marleau is out of place. In this TV movie, she was a police captain and not a gendarmerie captain.
A name inspired by a private detective
To find the name of their heroine, the creators of the series were inspired by the character of private detective Philip Marlowe, created by Raymond Chandler in the 1930s. He was the hero of the detective novels “The Big Sleep”. A complex, brawling and cynical character.
The chapka become a symbol
One of the characteristics of “Captain Marleau” is that she always wears a chapka. However, in the original TV movie, actress Corinne Masiero had chosen a chapka to protect herself from the wind on the set. The creator of the series Elsa Marpeau decided to make it an integral part of her character. It’s also a nod to the cult film by the Coen brothers, Fargo.
Continued audience success
The first episode of “Capitaine Marleau” aired on France 3 September 5, 2015. 3.8 million viewers watched. The series reached 7 million viewers from the twentieth episode. A popular success which led France Télévisions in 2021 to switch “Capitaine Marleau” to France 2 where she regularly beats the Friday night shows of TF1.
A folkloric character for the gendarmerie
The profile of Constable Marleau is atypical to say the least! “For the gendarmes in the field, his character is folkloric”, explained producer Gaspard de Chavagnac to the Parisian. “Some have told us that they have already met colleagues who are a little cracked up like her!” The producer assures that the big boss of the gendarmerie likes this character because “he shares the fundamental values of the gendarmerie: she is humanist, she has a sense of order and justice”.
