The press release arrived by surprise this Wednesday, shortly after 10:30 a.m. Its subject: “Prime Video unveils the poster forAlphonse, the new Original series with Jean Dujardin, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Pierre Arditi”. A few lines further down, we learn that the first episodes will be posted online… this Thursday!
That the media are notified the day before the day after the release of a fiction with such a cast is surprising to say the least. No interview session has been organized in advance and none is planned for the coming days. Journalists were also not able to obtain viewing links in order to write their reviews and articles. In summary: the platform has no promotional plan for this series.
The reason ? It was written and produced by Nicolas Bedos – whose name only appears in the third paragraph of the press release – targeted by an investigation for rape and sexual assault after three separate complaints from women. His appearance in court is scheduled for early next year.
“It is up to justice to establish the facts and we respect the fundamental principle of presumption of innocence,” Amazon Prime Video responded this Wednesday to 20 minutes. The broadcaster preferred to put onlineAlphonse in the greatest (relative) discretion. Without doubt the best way to get rid of this fiction, without exposing oneself too much to controversy, which involved 120 days of filming and significant technical and human resources.
“In the midst of professional and marital collapse”
Alphonsea series in six 50-minute episodes, features “a forty-year-old in the midst of his professional and marital collapse”, who will meet “a galaxy of women, each more exciting and eccentric than the last, plunging him into the heart of a story to at once perilous, transgressive and full of tenderness,” says the synopsis.
In June Nicolas Bedos was accused by a woman of touching her private parts over his pants in a Parisian club. He was summoned to appear before the Paris Criminal Court in February 2024 for sexual assault while clearly intoxicated. He faces five years of imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros.
In July, a preliminary investigation for rape and sexual assault was opened to examine three separate complaints from women implicating Nicolas Bedos, the Paris prosecutor’s office said, confirming information from Mediapart.