They first meet when he breaks into a flat and she arrests him after pointing a gun to his head. Captain Adeline Briard’s first working day at the police station in Lyon starts with an unexpected incident which makes all the police officers burst into laughter. She handcuffed none other than Captain Kader Chérif, a brilliant police officer who uses unorthodox but highly successful methods inspired by famous crime series like Starsky & Hutch, Columbo, Kojak and CHiPs.
As they work together, this atypical duo becomes a dynamic team, investigating murders in Lyon, France, and unraveling mysteries with wit, insight, and humor.
Who plays Captain Kader Chérif? Who plays Captain Adeline Briard? Where was the series shot? And why did it become one of the most successful drama series in France and abroad? Discover 19 Facts About Crime Show Cherif.
Up to 5.23 million viewers watched the police drama series Cherif from 2013 to 2019 in France. Most of the time, Cherif was the most viewed TV show in France on Friday evening. It was also broadcast in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil and Irak.
On 1st March 2022, the successful French series premiered in the U.S. and Canada on MHz Choice (watch all the episodes), which boosted the traffic of an old VERTIGO article about leading actor Abdelhafid Metalsi. Therefore, we decided to publish a new article for the English-speaking Cherif audience.
The French TV channel France 2 broadcast 48 episodes (six seasons) of Cherif from 2013 to 2019. It was the first time that a French actor whose family comes from an Arab country (Algeria) had a leading role in a prime time drama series that was broadcast by a French public national TV channel (which is partially financed by French tax payers).
Cherif was shot in Lyon, the third lagest city in France. However, season 6 was partly shot in Reims, Metalsi’s hometown.
In France, season 4 was the most successful one. 5.23 million people watched the first episode of season 4, which secured a market share of 21 percent on a Friday evening.
Carole Bianic, who plays Captain Aline Briard, quit the show at the beginning of season 5, because she wanted to have more time with her first-born child Lino.
The French show wasn’t renewed after season six, because leading actor Abdelhafid Metalsi didn’t want to continue playing Kader Chérif. Moreover, the script got worse from season 5 on. Instead of producing a thrilling drama series, the writers added all sorts of elements (comedy, sitcom, remake, romcom), focused on boring characters (Eddy, his mother Jennifer, the new Sarah etc.) and added storylines that didn’t make much sense (e. g. ghosts) or were repetitive or schmaltzy (Baudemont and Dejax in leading roles).
The crime show was created by Lionel Olenga, Laurent Scalese and Stéphane Drouet (producer), who had cameos in several seasons. In season 6, episode 1, they attended the comic con as A-Team characters accompanied by some MakingProd employees dressed up as manga girls.
There are several references to the production team in the series: Justine Gayet, Kader Chérif’s girlfriend in season 4, is named after an employee of MakingProd. Moreover, the mobile shop next to the police station sells pizza and Olenga coffee, which refers to Lionel Olenga, one of the writers of the series.
A LEADING ACTOR WHO WORKED WITH SPIELBERG, BENIGNI AND DEPARDIEU
Abdelhafid Metalsi, who plays Captain Kader Chérif, is a French actor and author. He had minor roles in films directed by Steven Spielberg and Roberto Benigni and played twice alongside Gerard Depardieu.
Kader Chérif was the most successful role of his career. In 2020, Metalsi published his first novel, entitled La colline à l’arbre seul (read VERTIGO’s review in French). In summer 2022, he was part of the cast of Shukran, a new film by Italian film director Pietro Malegori.
CAROLE BIANIC
The smart, self-confident and attractive Captain Adeline Briard moves from Paris to Lyon after her brother, a police officer, committed suicide. Only Doucet knows that she’s the daughter of the criminal police chief in Paris. Adeline is played by Carole Bianic, a 41-year old Breton actress and horse riding instructor. She quit the TV series at the beginning of season 5 to have more time for her son. From 2018 to 2022, she had minor roles in French TV shows, e. g. in Demain nous appartient. On her Instagram account, she often posts pictures of books she enjoyed reading. Moreover, she raises awareness for ecological and social issues.
AN ACTRESS WHO WRITES SONGS FOR CELINE DION
Deborah Atlan, Cherif’s ex-wife and successful attorney, who often assists accused during investigations, is played by Élodie Hesme (49). Even though she’s never had a leading role, Élodie has appeared in more than 20 French TV shows as supporting actress. Moreover, she’s a very successful songwriter, having written the lyrics for songs of superstars like Céline Dion, Lara Fabian, Amel Bent, Johnny Halliday etc. In 2012, she appeared in the movie JC comme Jésus-Christ directed by her partner Jonathan Zaccaï. Elodie’s two younger sisters are also actresses. Clotilde played alongside Omar Sy in the Netflix show Lupin.
AN ACTRESS WHO PLAYED ALONGSIDE ITALY’S MOST HANDSOME ACTOR
Aurore Erguy, a 42-year old Parisian actress, plays Captain Roxane Le Goff, Chérif’s new partner from season 5 on. She had minor roles in French and Italian series and movies, e. g. Sole e Catinelle. In the successful Italian series Non è stato mio figlio, she played alongside Italian beau Gabriel Garko, Stefania Sandrelli and Adua del Vesco.
AN ACTRESS WHO HAD A MINOR ROLE IN HOMELAND
Sarah Chérif, the teenage daughter of Deborah Atlan and Kader Chérif, is played by Mélèze Bouzid. She was already 22 years old when she appeared in season 1 of the French TV show in 2013. The family of Mélèze is originally from Algeria and Morocco, but she was born and raised in Paris. She had minor roles in three movies (e. g. Skirt Day alongside Isabelle Adjani) and a show (Homeland, where she played Sonia) before she joined the Cherif cast. She didn’t persue her acting career when she left the successful TV series at the end of season 5.
CHERIF BEHIND THE SCENES IN LYON
VIDEO – A CITY GUIDE TO LYON, FRANCE
Unfortunately, Makingprod lacks of professionalism when it comes to international media. We received only six pictures for an English article on a 115 episodes show. When we asked for a few more in July and September (three requests by e-mail!) to include in our second most clicked article of the month, the person in charge was either too busy the week before her holiday or she was out of office.
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This article was first published on 28 August 2022 and updated ever since.
Photos: Courtesy of Makingprod
