More beautiful life is she really “even more beautiful” on TF1? Stopped dead on France 3 in 2022, the soap opera made its comeback on Monday on the first channel. The series is now broadcast daily at 1:40 p.m., just after Marie-Sophie Lacarrau’s news. A new event that viewers did not miss: 2.99 million curious people were in front of their small screen for its launch, a million more than the box average, as the site highlighted on Tuesday. Puremedias.
On Thursday, there were still 2.51 million following the program. A slightly lower score, which nevertheless remains higher than the audiences achieved by PBLV during its last broadcasts on France 3 (2.22 million each evening at 8:20 p.m. on average from August 22 to November 18, 2022, specifies the specialized site). A return with great fanfare, therefore, something to greatly delight TF1. But what did fans of the series think? “Welcome renewal” for some, “unsuitable time slot” for others… As for the readers of 20 minutesthey are half fig, half grape.
“I haven’t watched the series for a while”
First of all there are those for whom More beautiful life always hits the mark. “It is with great joy that I rediscovered the old atmosphere of this soap opera,” enthuses Françoise, 74 years old. I hope that this series will continue for many years, both for the joy of having given work again to the actors and actresses and for the good morale it provides to the viewers. » This launch even succeeded in reconciling the program with former fans. “I haven’t watched the series for some time, having grown tired of it. I watched the 1st episode and now I can’t wait to see the next one! », jubilant Anaïs, 26 years old. Serge, a septuagenarian, even speaks of a “welcome renewal”. “The settings are sublime – bravo for the magnificent view of Marseille and its surroundings. The veteran actresses and actors and the newcomers are excellent,” he judges.
If the heart of the matter remains the same, TF1 has decided to offer a completely new version of PBLV. Starting with the protagonists of the fiction, partly renewed. Viewers found certain histories, such as Cécilia Hornis who has played Blanche Marci since the very first season, Stéphane Hénon who plays Jean-Paul Boher or Léa François, Barbara Evenot in the series. Alongside them, they were also able to discover new people with the arrival of Moon Dailly, the new commissioner Meiline Liao or Iñaki Lartigue, a new lieutenant named Samuel Gayet.
A casting that raises many questions about Madeleine, 75, who describes this start as “a little slow”. “I’m dreading what’s next because many well-known faces will no longer be part of the series… The new ones will have to be very convincing to encourage us to be loyal,” warns this fan from the start.
“Too many settings, too many characters kill the soul of this series”
Viewers did not fail to notice that the sets have been completely redesigned. Filming still takes place at the Belle de Mai Media Center in Marseille, but also outdoors to “highlight the region”, explained Vincent Meslet, the general director of Newen France which produces the series, last October. The Mistral bar still appears in the series but in a modernized version. Changes which did not really shake the sixty-year-old Patricia, who was happy to find the former actors. “I was delighted and impatient that More beautiful life resumes. The exterior decor is quite faithful to the first version but that of the bar is too modern for my taste,” she believes, however.
Hélène, 60 years old, does not hide her disappointment. ” Very disapointed ! Too many settings, too many characters kill the soul of this series which was warm, alive. The camera close to the characters gave the impression of “being there”, she analyzes. There are certainly big resources on TF1 but it’s much more superficial and flashy! “. Several of them have noted a different aesthetic and atmosphere, specific to the new broadcast channel of PBLV.
This is the case of thirty-year-old Julien, who “was very happy and moved to find the characters who are part of the family”. He explains: “If they haven’t changed, I find that the atmosphere is no longer the same. The staging is more elaborate, it is more fictional. On France Télé, the images were less beautiful but accentuated the realistic aspect which brought us closer to the characters and stories. I find that the series loses a little of its identity by getting closer to Tomorrow Belongs to Us And Here it all begins [deux autres séries de TF1] “. He nevertheless qualifies by saying “that we must give the series time to settle in, to find its feet, in the hope that other veterans will eventually return”.
“We don’t have time to get into the swing of things”
A few clouds darken this new More beautiful life, notably its broadcast box, just after 1 p.m. “The time slot is unsuitable and substantially reduces the audience. Change very quickly or risk failure,” warns Yvan, 67 years old. “I am retired but this soap opera can be watched at the end of the day, peacefully in the armchair,” adds Guy. We imagine that on a sofa, it works just as well.
Another recurring criticism is that of the new episode format. They went from twenty-six minutes on France 3 to twenty minutes on TF1. “We thought about an affinity program with the newspaper’s active and provincial audience. It should not be too long because some of the workers then return to work,” explained Rodolphe Belmer, Chairman and CEO of TF1. Strategiesreports Tele-Leisure. Still, the pill must have had difficulty going down with our readers.
“The only downside I would say is that the episodes are too short and we don’t have time to get into the swing of things. But I still keep looking,” explains Hélène, in her forties. “The shorter format does not allow the intrigues to be developed correctly,” analyzes Julien. Which is frustrating because the pleasure of meeting the characters is there and we quickly want to discover everything that has happened to them in one year. » Life is more beautiful, but a bit too short?