' (screened as ''Republican Gangsters'' in some markets) is a French

political drama A political drama can describe a Theatre, play, film or TV program that has a politics, political component, whether reflecting the author's political opinion, or describing a politician or series of political events. Dramatists who have written p ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

which premiered on

Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

on 8 February 2016. The series was developed by and .

Premise

''Baron Noir'' is the political and judicial saga of Philippe Rickwaert, member of Parliament and mayor of

Dunkerque Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

, who is driven by an irrepressible thirst for personal revenge. Between rounds of the presidential election, he sees his future collapse when his mentor, the leftist candidate, sacrifices him to save his campaign. Determined to reinvent his career, Rickwaert uses cunning and connections to win political fights against those who betrayed him, creating a new alliance with the closest adviser of his enemy. Formidable but uncontrollable, conflicted between truth and lies, cultivating friendships in all strata of society (including within the police and organized crime), Philippe Rickwaert's life dissolves into a fascinating organised chaos. Rickwaert takes the fight to his opponents - and to his own demons - at every opportunity.

Cast

Main

Kad Merad Kad Merad (born Kaddour Merad, ; 27 March 1964) is a French-Algerian writer and actor. Life and career Kad Merad was born in Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria, on 27 March 1964 to an Algerian father and a French mother. During his teens, he played d ...

as Philippe Rickwaert *

Niels Arestrup Niels Arestrup (; 8 February 1949 – 1 December 2024) was a French-Danish actor, film director and screenwriter. Early life and career Arestrup was born in Paris on 8 February 1949, into a family of modest means; his father was Danish and his ...

as Francis Laugier (Season 1) *

Anna Mouglalis Anna Mouglalis (; ; born 26 April 1978) is a French actress and model. She is known for being a house ambassador for Chanel since 2002, and for portraying the fashion designer Coco Chanel in the 2009 film '' Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky'', and a ...

as Amélie Dorendeu *

Hugo Becker Hugo Becker (born Jean Otto Eric Hugo Becker, 13 February 1863, died 30 July 1941) was a prominent German cellist, cello teacher, and composer. He studied at a young age with Alfredo Piatti, and later Friedrich Grützmacher in Dresden. Biogr ...

as Cyril Balsan *

Astrid Whettnall Astrid Jadot (née Ullens de Schooten Whettnall, known as Astrid Whettnall; born 17 March 1971) is a Belgian stage and film actress. She studied at the Kleine Academy in Brussels and began working in theatre. Her film credits include ''Capital'' ...

as Véronique Bosso * François Morel as Michel Vidal

Recurring

* Laurent Spielvogel as Armand Chambolle * Jade Phan-Gia as Françoise Levasseur * Lubna Gourion as Salomé Rickwaert * Scali Delpeyrat as Martin Borde * Philippe Résimont as Daniel Kalhenberg * Eric Caruso as Laurent Mirmont *

Erika Sainte Erika Sainte (born 14 July 1981) is a Belgian actress. In 2012, she won the Magritte Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in ''She is Not Crying, She is Singing''. Biography In 2000, Erika Sainte graduated from the academy of Ixelles ...

as Fanny Alvergne * Maryne Bertieaux as Alison

Guest

;Season 1 *

Michel Voïta Michel Voïta (born 1 March 1957) is a Swiss actor. He appeared in more than sixty films since 1983. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Voita, Michel 1957 births Living people Swiss male film actors S ...

as Jean-Marc Auzanet *

Jean-Pierre Martins Jean-Pierre Martins (born 29 October 1971) is a French actor and musician. He is known for playing the French boxer Marcel Cerdan in ''La Vie en rose'' (2007). Life and career In 2007, he played the French boxer Marcel Cerdan on Édith Piaf's bi ...

as Bruno Rickwaert *

Michel Muller Michel Muller (born 9 September 1966) is a French actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He is most recently known for playing Charles VIII of France in the television series ''The Borgias''. Biography Michel Muller was born 1966 in Vienna ...

as Gérard Balleroy * Mahdi Belemlih as Medhi Fateni * Patrick Rocca as Alain Chistera * Alban Aumard as Sylvain Buisine * Yannick Morzelle as Bruce Rickwaert * Rémy Stiel as Jordan Rickwaert * Marie Lanchas as Elodie Jacquemot * Alain Pointier as Jean-Pierre Barthélémy * Stéphane Ropa as Boris Valentin * Phénix Brossard as Sébastien * Damien Jouillerot as Toph * Alain Pronnier as Eddy * Jean-Erns Marie-Louise as Ménadier * Brigitte Froment as Maryse * Léon Plazol as Théo * Sébastien Beuret as Arthur ;Season 3 * Marie-France Alvarez as Malika

Episodes

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2018)

Season 3 (2020)

Development and production

On 29 February 2016, Eric Benzekri, the writer of the series announced that the season 2 will be shot during the next presidential and it was aired in 2018. Season 3 debuted in February 2020.

Reception

The TV Series was very well received by French critics.

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

L'Obs (), previously known as (2014–2024), (1964–2014), (1954–1964), (1953–1954), and (1950–1953), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, ' is one of the three most prominent French news magazines a ...

Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' (), abbreviated as ''Les Inrocks'', is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. As of 2021, it returned to a monthly format. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's prim ...

Metro International Metro International is a Swedish media company based in Luxembourg that publishes the freesheet newspaper ''Metro''. The company was founded by Per Andersson, and started as a subsidiary of the Modern Times Group along with Viasat Broadcast ...

Paris Match ''Paris Match'' () is a French-language weekly gossip magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. ''Paris Match'' has been considered "one of the world's best outlets for photojournalism". ...

and

Télérama ''Télérama'' is a weekly French language, French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic ...

gave the first season 4 out of 5 stars.

L'Express (, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''R� ...

and

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

gave 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, id=tt4835480, title=Baron noir 2010s French drama television series 2020s French drama television series 2016 French television series debuts French political drama television series Serial drama television series French-language television shows Television shows set in France Canal+ original programming Television series by StudioCanal