Introduction by producers Caroline Benjo and Jimmy Desmarais

The national and international success of The Returned was both a wonderful surprise for us as producers, and also the confirmation that the limits just need to be pushed a tiny bit farther. Audiences were looking for a new kind of French drama that was deeply anchored in their own culture but with themes that have already been widely explored. The zombies could therefore be French, they could live in the Alps, they could look like us, they could aspire to the same tranquillity as the living, they could love, be hungry, and they could rebel – and as French people, they are perhaps even more inclined to!

The Brits were the first to show their delight at our “Frenchified” foray into a territory that has traditionally been theirs. Ad breaks on Channel 4 were in French, the subtitling became the Holy Grail, and watchers pondered sweetly over this “je-ne-sais-quoi” that set this series aside from the rest.

Fabrice Gobert’s slightly crazy gamble had, therefore, paid off. But the intuition behind it that his story would resonate with audiences was never self-evident. It was also feverish, constantly pushing him against his own limits. This was even clearer when it came to transforming the first “trial” season into a new chapter that had to be equally striking. Once again, he had to take the time to find the right tone, moving forward like our Returned, to the rhythm of their own lives, chaotic, uncertain, and so deeply human.

Although his personal view has always been the cornerstone of the writing, once again a body of likeminded sensibilities formed around him. They are Audrey Fouché, a new recruit who is a protégée of Tom Fontana and who cut her teeth both at the Fémis film school and in a stateside writers’ room; and the more familiar face of Frédéric Goupil, a longstanding collaborator on all Fabrice’s filmic forays. These two lieutenants were able to help steer the writing on the one hand, and the direction on the other. Other key collaborators from Season 1 also joined us for Season 2, in the shape of Patrick Blossier, who conjured up the magical, ultra-(sur)realist photography, and Mogwai who crafted the throbbing musical universe through a score of hauntingly muffled nightmares. The rest of the faithful crew also joined in the adventure, all of them benefiting from the fact that, like us, they had, in the interval, become fervent viewers of The Returned. They had moved to the other side of the camera, at last understanding exactly what Fabrice’s intentions were, and were also very impatient to work with “their” characters once again.

They were joined by some new faces, such as Laurent Lucas, Aurélien Recoing, Ernst Umhauer, Armande Boulanger, and Michaël Abiteboul, along with a fresh clutch of storylines to reboot the narrative in directions primed during Season 1. They brought the off-screen to life, the submerged part of the first chapter in the story, while always remaining at the very heart of the intimate.

The ship has now been launched. We hope it reaches the same shores and heads for new ones that are just as rich and full of promise.