Pascal Breton’s Federation Entertainment Develops U.S. Remake of ‘The Bureau,’ ‘Joan of Arc’ Series (EXCLUSIVE)
Pascal Breton’s European indie studio and production company Federation Entertainment is developing a U.S. remake of Eric Rochant’s hit spy thriller “The Bureau,” and a series adaptation of iconic French heroine Joan of Arc.
Federation Entertainment is teaming with Alex Berger and Eric Rochant’s banner The Oligarchs Productions, which is also the producer of the original series.
“The Bureau” stars Matthieu Kassovitz (“Munich”) as a member of the French Secret Service’s clandestine branch who returns to his home base after a six-year mission in Damascus. The show has been sold worldwide.
The series has been a hit in English-language markets. In the U.S. and Canada, “The Bureau” launched in June 2016 on iTunes and ranked within the Top Five, while in the U.K. it rolled out on Amazon Prime.
Greenlit by French pay TV channel Canal Plus for a fourth season, “The Bureau” earned strong reviews for its realistic depiction of secret agents’ s complex lives and contempo geopolitical issues.
“‘The Bureau’ is airing all over the world now and it’s growing,” said Breton, who added that he and Alex Berger were pitching the English-language remake at Series Mania.
Federation Entertainment currently had 85 projects in development with 40 different producers from Canada, the U.S., Belgium, Israel, Scandinavia and Italy.
The outfit is also joining forces with Marc Du Pontavice’s well-established Paris-based company Xilam on “Joan of Arc,” a series based on the iconic French heroine. Federation is co-producing and co-repping the series in international markets with Xilam.
A veteran animation producer, Du Pontavice has also produced several live-action films, notably Joann Sfar’s “Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life” and David Oelhoffen’s “Far From Men” with Viggo Mortensen.
During a keynote at Variety’s Europe TV Summit, Breton said Federation Entertainment was developing a show for Youtube Red, as well as three series with Netflix.
Federation Entertainment is also producing the second season of “Marseille,” Netflix’s first French-language original series.
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