''Métal Hurlant Chronicles'' is an English-language Franco-Belgian television science fiction

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

based on the popular

comics anthology A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication to co ...

magazine ', known in the United States as '' Heavy Metal''. Each episode is a self-contained story taking place on a different planet with a different cast, and the episodes are linked together only by the idea that an asteroid, the "", passes the planet in question during the events of the story. The show's premise originated with Guillaume Lubrano, who put together a self-financed pilot to pitch the show, which was broadcast as the series' third episode. Lubrano and Justine Veillot produce the show through their company WE Productions. It was largely filmed in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, Romania. The series was premiered on French television on 27 October 2012 on

France 4 France 4 () is a French free-to-air television channel owned by France Télévisions, focused on children's programming. The colour of France 4 is purple. Originally launched as Festival in 1996, the channel took its current name in 2005 when it ...

. Broadcast rights for various European countries such as Germany, Austria and Luxembourg, were bought by

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainme ...

."Métal Hurlant Chronicles"
''Scott Adkins: Action Star'', 3 October 2011. Retrieved on 3 October 2011.

Plot

As an anthology series, each episode is a self-contained science-fiction story taking place in a different world, with different characters played by a different cast and adapted from a story previously published in the ' magazine. However, the show also proposes that all the stories are linked together by an asteroid, called the "", which is passing close to the planet where the episode's story is taking place. The opening credits, narrated in French by voice actor

Benoît Allemane Benoît Allemane (born 28 December 1942) is a French actor who specializes in dubbing. He is the official French dub-over voice of Morgan Freeman. According to IMDb, he also provided the voice of King Harkinian in '' Link: The Faces of Evil''. ...

, inform that the "" (Screaming Metal) is the last fragment of what was once a living planet, led to destruction by the madness of its inhabitants and condemned to travel ceaselessly through space and time, screaming its sadness and despair.

Cast

A number of notable British, French, American and Dutch actors have performed in various episodes of the show, including

Scott Adkins Scott Edward Adkins (born 17 June 1976) is a British actor, film producer, screenwriter, gymnast, and martial artist. He is best known for his role as the Russian prison fighter Yuri Boyka in the ''Undisputed franchise''. He has played Yuri Boy ...

Karl E. Landler Karl E. Landler is a French actor, filmmaker who stars in French and American TV shows and films. He joined the international cast of the Sci-Fi TV series Métal Hurlant Chronicles. He is the face of numerous worldwide campaigns such as Shiseido ...

Michael Jai White Michael Jai White (born November 10, 1967) is an American actor, director and martial artist. He was the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture, starring as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1 ...

, James Marsters,

Michelle Ryan Michelle Claire Ryan (born 22 April 1984) is an English actress. She played Zoe Slater on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' (2000–2005). In 2007, she starred in the short-lived American television series ''Bionic Woman''. She appeared as th ...

David Belle David Nicholas Williams Belle (born 29 April 1973) is a French actor, film choreographer and stunt coordinator. He is deemed the founder and leading pioneer of the physical discipline parkour, coining it based on his training and the teachings fr ...

, Dominique Pinon,

Kelly Brook Kelly Ann Parsons (born 23 November 1979), known professionally as Kelly Brook, is an English model, actress, and media personality. She is known for her modelling work in the UK, and in the US for her role as Prudence on the NBC sitcom '' On ...

Joe Flanigan Joe Flanigan (born January 5, 1967) is an American writer and actor best known for his portrayal of the character John Sheppard (Stargate), Major/Lt. Colonel John Sheppard in ''Stargate Atlantis''. Early life Flanigan was born Joseph Dunnigan II ...

Frédérique Bel Frédérique Bel (born 24 March 1975) is a French actress and model. A native of Annecy in the French Alps, she became known for her role as Dorothy Doll in the ''La Minute Blonde'' sequence from '' Le Grand Journal'' on Canal+. She has since pl ...

and

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...

among others.

Broadcast

After being initially expected for early 2012, all six episodes of season one were broadcast on

in a late night time slot over the course of two nights in either default dubbed French or optional subtitled original English audio tracks, between 27 October and 3 November of the same year. was expected to rebroadcast season one in France sometime in 2013.

has bought the broadcast rights for several European countries, where it was at least aired on

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. The channel also dubbed other cartoons in Japanese language. A subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, it is headq ...

in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Syfy Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

began airing the first season of the series in the U.S. on 14 April 2014 on Mondays at 8:00 and 8:30 p.m with various repeats during the week following.

Reception

Broadcast on 27 October 2012 after 3 episodes of '' Doctor Who'' that gathered a 1.4% share on the night, ' succeeded in raising the global share for channel France 4, bringing it to a tie with W9 and beating out

Gulli Gulli (; stylised as gulli) is a French free-to-air television channel focused on kids programming for those aged 3 to 14. It was created as a result of a partnership between Lagardère Active and state-owned broadcaster France Télévisions. ...

, NT1 & D8. The premiere episode attracted 347,000 viewers, garnering a 2.2% share at 11 p.m, but lost about 100,000 viewers for the next two episodes broadcast on the same night. Overall the night held 2.4% of 15- to 34-year-olds and 3.5% of men aged 15 to 49. When it debuted on SyFy in 2014, its viewership was slightly below normal for a pilot in its time slot, and then steadily declined. Its critical reception has been tepid, from the start. Generally, the series is described as having decent visual effects, but being poorly written and produced, with inconsistent acting.

Series overview

Episodes

All 12 episodes were directed by Guillaume Lubrano.

Season 1

Season 2

Home media

Shout Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

released both seasons on 14 April 2015 on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

and DVD.

References

External links

* at France4.fr * {{DEFAULTSORT:Metal Hurlant Chronicles 2010s French television series French science fiction television series Heavy Metal (magazine) 2012 French television series debuts French anthology television series English-language television shows Works by Geoff Johns Television series based on French comics Science fiction anthology television series 2014 French television series endings