Spiral (TV series)

Spiral
FrenchEngrenages
Created byAlexandra Clert
Guy-Patrick Sainderichin
StarringCaroline Proust
Philippe Duclos
Audrey Fleurot
Thierry Godard
Fred Bianconi
Grégory Fitoussi
ComposerStéphane Zidi
Country of originFrance
Original languageFrench
No. of series8
No. of episodes86 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time52 minutes
Original release
NetworkCanal+
Release13 December 2005 (2005-12-13) –
5 October 2020 (2020-10-05)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Spiral (French: Engrenages, lit. 'Gears', pronounced [ɑ̃ɡʁəˈnaʒ]) is a French television police procedural and legal drama series following the work and the private lives of Paris police officers, lawyers and judges at the Palais de Justice, Paris. It was created by Alexandra Clert for the TV production company Son et Lumière. The first series of eight episodes started broadcast on Canal+ in France in December 2005.[1]

The first series was shown in the UK on BBC Four during the summer of 2006. It was the channel's first French language drama series, attracting firm critical approval and a loyal audience of around 200,000. The second series, also eight episodes, was broadcast in France starting in May 2008, and in the UK on BBC Four starting in September 2009.[2] The third series consisted of 12 episodes and was shown from April 2011. The fourth series was broadcast in February 2013.[3][4][5] The fifth was broadcast in France in late 2014 and in the UK on BBC Four from January 2015. The sixth series was broadcast in 2017. The seventh series was broadcast in France in February 2019.[6] Series four, five, six, and seven each consisted of 12 episodes.[7][8]

The eighth and final series of ten episodes was broadcast on BBC Four in the UK during January 2021.

Spiral has been an export success, with sales to broadcasters in more than 70 countries including Australia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain and the United Kingdom. In Australia, the first series was broadcast in 2008 on SBS One, the second series on SBS Two from September 2009 and the third series on SBS Two from mid-2012. Spiral debuted in North America via Netflix in September 2012,[9] but is no longer available on the service.

Spiral has received wide-ranging critical acclaim throughout its run, and has been nominated for and won several awards.

  1. ^ "Spiral, season 1". IMDb. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  2. ^ Holmwood, Leigh (4 April 2007). "More European drama for BBC4". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2007.
  3. ^ "Spiral, season 3". IMDb. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
  4. ^ Robinson, John (1 April 2011). "Will Spiral become your new favourite Saturday night Euro cop drama?". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  5. ^ Karen (27 March 2011). "BBC4 is spoiling us (aka the return of Spiral)". Euro Crime. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  6. ^ Pascal (19 January 2018). "Le tournage de la saison 7 d'Engrenages débute" [Season 7 of 'Engrenages' starts filming]. Le Blog: TV News (in French). Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Spiral, Series 5: Double Murder". BBC Four. 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  8. ^ Joyard, Olivier (27 January 2017). "Sur le tournage de la sixième saison d'"Engrenages"" [On the set of the sixth season of "Engrenages"]. Les Inrockuptibles (in French). Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  9. ^ Bunky Bunk (26 July 2012). "Engrenages (Spiral) – Netflix acquired the show". Spoiler TV. Retrieved 15 October 2019.