It was in January 2021 that Netflix acquired rights to and released France’s breakthrough show Call My Agent! (Originally titled Dix pour cent) –– four seasons of the subtle yet chaotic world of a talent agency ASK named after its founding member Samuel Kerr. While the show begins with the death of said founding member, four remaining agents Andrea (Camille Cottin), Gabriel (Gregory Montel), Mathias (Thibault de Montalembert) and Arlette (Liliane Rovere) struggle to keep the company afloat amid tax audits and persnickety actors with some real and some avant-garde problems.
Global interest for the show that originally released on France 2 network accumulated in 2021, however, the collective sigh of relief and joie de vivre at the news of a fifth season and a standalone film as announced few weeks prior stands testament to the unearthing of hidden gems of global television. Mediawan, the production agency for the show officially tweeted saying: “The ASK agency has not closed its doors, #DixPourCent will return for a season 5!” Fans are rejoicing even though there are no timelines in sight.
Four seasons of 24 episodes have France’s creme de la creme of the film fraternity appearing as oftentimes pompous and satirical and mostly self-effacing versions of themselves, penning poetry on screen with the nuances of their emotions. However, in the show, they are not the real stars despite each episode being based on one of them. The showrunners of the show (all possible puns intended) are the agents who stand with a cigarette in one hand and the delicate beam of an actor’s life path balanced precariously on the other. As we binge-watched one hour-long episode after another, t2 paused in between to organise and pen the reasons why the show struck a chord.
Juliette Binoche
Of all the supposed collaterals that arrive in life with stardom, the ability to take oneself not so seriously would never be on the list. On the contrary, a sense of self is accused of taking humongous proportions for those ill-equipped to handle fame. However, the biggest names in French cinema do exactly that to win the hearts of millions worldwide. Think multiple Oscar-nominated Isabelle Adjani, Christopher Lambert, Juliette Binoche (just when we thought it wasn’t possible to love her more) and Monica Bellucci who fall in love, get insecure, have meltdowns and have their health give up on them. Watching Juliette Binoche stumble around in a disheveled gown looking for a place to pee backstage before inaugurating the Cannes Film Festival or seeing Monica Bellucci send an embarrassed apology text to her agent for having crossed lines the night before throw light upon a different side of stardom — one that is raw, real and endearing.
There is a disproportionate division of drama and comedy quotient in this dramedy, and that subtlety is what adds to the joy of the show. There are unforeseen pregnancies and a 23-year-old love child showing up at the workplace; there are jealous boyfriends foiling commercial funding for a film and cheating partners who can’t live without each other. However, emotions are always brimming on the surface at this Parisian workplace where colleagues wear T-shirts with a knife at the back to protest against an unexpected promotion of a less deserving candidate! The French are passionate people and that passion is reflected in every action of these agents.
Gregory Montel with Monica Bellucci in a scene from the show Sourced by the correspondent
The hierarchy of workplace designations is subliminally exerted amongst the characters who give their all to their agency. When the lines between the personal and the professional blur, there is an inevitable routine that is avoided with great effort in most successful workplace dramas like Parks and Recreation or The Office. However, in Call My Agent! all lines are blurred and the three junior characters Camille, Mathias’ secret lovechild and Andrea’s assistant; obsessed with her boss Mathias, Noemie; and fabulous Herve played by Nicolas Maury, effortlessly fit into the narrative, strongly holding fort with Sofia, the receptionist played by Stefi Celma. Their collective struggles are unique to individuals and yet very universal.
The governing force for the entire show is each individual’s love for films. The agents liaison with producers, artists, actors and financiers negotiating their way to the creation of a film like a conductor at a classical music concert. There is a scene where Andrea and Arlette, two agents from different generations, ponder about watching a film while walking past what appears to an amateur’s eyes as the river Seine. “When life gets tough, there is always the movies”, says Arlette, the senior agent. In the first episode of the third season, Jean Dujardin plays himself as a crazed actor who is unable to break character long after the shoot is over. As his real and reel collide in one moment of fury, we realise how far these characters have lost themselves in this world of films.
From everyone building a story where no character gets less highlight than others, there is one person who remains etched in the mind. A glorious and fiery character, agent Andrea Martel has long left her small-town past behind to live it up in Paris. Never to be one to waste time for love, she dumps one woman over text and another through a message from her bawling assistant. Her sexuality never once appears as a tool for the propagation of narrative as we have seen many shows or films with Queer love. She lives freely and with complete abandon for consequences. Focused steadily at an end result, she jumps headlong into problems... relationships, not so much! It is no surprise that the initial plan for the standalone film was to be a spin-off on Martel. Played by Camille Cottin, the actor has now found success in the English language film industry appearing in Stillwater with Matt Damon and House of Gucci with Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto and Al Pacino. While we can imagine getting time from Cottin might be difficult now, but we can’t wait for the next season beyond next January.
