Let’s explore the 12 best French series on Netflix right now!
Whether you’re in the mood for rollicking comedies, gripping dramas, fast-paced detective shows, or just about anything in between, Netflix has a great French TV series for you. So pop some popcorn (or grab an éclair) and take an hour or two to work on your French – while having a great time – with these fantastic French shows.
After all, there’s nothing better than finding a new favorite TV show and learning a language at the same time, right? You can’t beat it.
If you’re learning French, one of the best things you can do to improve your listening comprehension and your French accent is to immerse yourself in French pop culture. And how better to practice French immersion than by binge-watching a fantastic show?
Note: We’ve marked which country each series comes from because, just like with our favorite Netflix Spanish series, different French-speaking countries and different parts of France have different accents and phrases.
Tomatometer: 97%
Genre: Comedy, drama
Country of origin: France
A critically acclaimed, totally hilarious comedy series about the personal and professional struggles of the four lead agents at a French talent agency. Dix pour cent benefits from cameos by a number of French celebrities who are clearly enjoying their time on the show, plus a totally lovable main cast.
And, for fans of Dix pour cent who have already binged the whole series, there’s now Standing Up. It’s a new French series on Netflix by Dix pour cent creator Fanny Herrero about the French stand-up comedy scene.
Tomatometer: 100%
Genre: Drama
Country of origin: France
In Paris, sometime in the not-so-distant future, two brilliant siblings unveil a dating app that uses a high-tech implant to match singles by mining their minds for information. As you can imagine, all does not go as planned and the tech has unintended consequences. Drama ensues!
Tomatometer: N/A
Genre: Drama, mystery, crime
Country of origin: France, Belgium
Described as a French Broadchurch, La Forêt is a crime drama about the disappearance of a teenage girl in a small, tight-knit Belgian town surrounded by the Ardennes forest. The six-episode miniseries is gripping from beginning to end, a must-watch for fans of dark police dramas and small-town secrets.
Tomatometer: 83%
Genre: Period drama, war
Country of origin: France
This 8-episode miniseries follows the lives of four women living near the French-German border in the first month of World War I. Critics praise Les Combattantes for its notable cinematography and performances, with complex characters and enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes for the whole series.
Tomatometer: 85%
Genre: Psychological thriller, drama, crime
Country of origin: France, Belgium
Like La Forêt, Zone Blanche is a crime procedural that takes place in a small, isolated town. But while La Forêt focuses on a town and its secrets following the disappearance of one young girl, Zone Blanche follows the local head of police as a new prosecutor arrives in the small French town of Villefranche.
The prosecutor is concerned – the murder rate in the small town is six times the national average, and there’s a sense that something unnatural is happening in the caves and forests surrounding them.
Tomatometer: Audience score only – 89%
Genre: Mystery, teen, time travel
Country of origin: France
This exciting limited series follows a teen who finds a man’s remains and wakes up in the 1990s – in his body. She ends up body swapping seven times, once a night for seven nights, with seven different people connected to the man – including the man himself, Ismael. As she is sent back each night, she attempts to solve and prevent his mysterious murder.
Tomatometer: Audience score only – 71%
Genre: Drama
Country of origin: France
Mytho is a gripping and gritty story about an overlooked and overworked housewife who pretends to have cancer to get the attention of her family – but the lies soon unravel (of course). Originally created as a mini-series, Mytho was so beloved it was brought back for a surprise second season in 2021.
Tomatometer: Audience score only – 100%
Genre: Comedy
Country of origin: France
This lighthearted comedy follows a down-on-his-luck businessman and his family as they rush to pivot the family butcher shop to a cannabis-growing operation when France votes to legalize marijuana. It’s a fun show and has gained some well-earned popularity – it’s been renewed for a third season.
Tomatometer: N/A
Genre: Reality, real estate
Country of origin: France
If you’re in the mood for a gentler reality show, L’Agence is a delightful show about a family-run luxury real estate company. It has all the exclusive real estate glory of Selling Sunset, but everyone mostly gets along. It’s a pretty delightful way to see Paris from afar and hear real French people speaking with their family members in casual, modern conversation.
Tomatometer: N/A
Genre: Comedy
Country of origin: Canada
While French Canadian series on Netflix aren’t as plentiful as those made in France, there’s tons of great Québecois content out there to be seen. Having a very different accent and using a plethora of unique phrases, it’s worth familiarizing yourself with the Québec style of French, especially if you’re thinking about a trip to the francophone province.
M’entends-tu? is a raunchy comedy with touches of drama that follows three female friends from a low income neighborhood of Montreal getting through life and dating together.
(Want more Québecois content? Check out our list of the best French films to watch on Netflix for some great ideas.)
Tomatometer: Audience score only – 70%
Genre: Comedy, rom-com
Country of origin: France
While not necessarily high art, Plan cœur is quite enjoyable if rom-coms are your cup of tea. Think of it like a French Sex and the City available on Netflix. It follows a woman turning 30 and still hung up on her ex whose friends decide to secretly hire her a male escort. As you can imagine, hijinks ensue. At the very least, it’s a more accurate representation of the lifestyle and people of Paris than Emily in Paris.
Tomatometer: 98%
Genre: Mystery, thriller, espionage
Country of origin: France
Finally, maybe the best French show on Netflix right now, the series Lupin had streamers abuzz worldwide when it launched in 2021.
It follows Omar Sy as Assane Diop, the only son of an immigrant from Senegal, who has pursued the life of a professional thief, inspired by the adventures of the French literary character Arsène Lupin. Lupin is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise, but a real literary character, to be clear, created in the early 1900s by the French writer Maurice Leblanc.
The show expertly plays with and borrows from the original source material. Think something like Sherlock with a touch of Luther, but en français. Lupin smashed records for a French language show worldwide and is absolutely worth a watch.
Special mention: French versions of Netflix originals
Besides all these great shows, there are a few more that merit a mention. Over the past few years, Netflix has released tons of French iterations of their original series, including Nailed it! France, Criminal France, The Circle France and Chef’s Table France. If any of those shows float your boat in English, their French counterparts are equally fun, exciting and mesmerizing.
And there you have it – the 12 top French series on Netflix right now – and a few bonus recommendations to boot. Each one has a certain je ne sais quoi, don’t you think? Pick the one that suits your mood and get watching.
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