Female French Detectives

We love all of our detectives here at MHz Choice, but some truly stand out for their smarts, quirks, or just being extremely relatable. Enter two new French series debuting this month and we dare you not to love Louise Arbus (Muriel Robin) of Master Crimes (Newen) and Marianne Vauban (Marilou Berry) of Marianne, One of a Kind! (France Television).

In Master Crimes (premiering September 3, 2024), Louise Arbus is a psycho-criminology professor who gets pulled into a police investigation involving a strange murder that seems to be connected to her via a well-known book about her former work as a criminologist. The season-long investigation itself is interesting and Arbus is unmatched in her casual brilliance, but her character is more well-rounded than just her detective chops and occasionally bending a rule or three. She’s a grandmother who loves elegant shoes and at one point steals a cat from a crime scene just because. Arbus also harbors lingering doubts over a case from years ago and goes as far as to frequently visit the man she perhaps mistakenly put in prison. Most of all she’s a great teacher to the four students she drags along as investigation assistants as well as to Captain Barbara Delandre (Anne Le Nen) who begrudgingly has to share lead on the case with Arbus.

Investigating judge Marianne Vauban in Marianne, One of a Kind! (premiering September 24, 2024) is also brilliant and prone to unorthodox methods. She blasts military march music from her beat up Volkswagen and seems immune to worrying about what people think. Does she partake in square dancing lessons (complete with cowboy hat) to learn more about a key suspect in a case? Yes. Does she enlist her loyal clerk Yves (Stéphane Pezerat) to buy food for Cyrano, her pet ferret she brought into the office? Also, yes. Her directness is balanced by her soft spot for Zacharie (Drimi Gouttebel), a teenager orphaned when his mother was murdered years ago. Marianne ensures Zacharie’s foster family treats him well while she doggedly pursues re-opening the case of his mother’s murder.

More Tatorts!

Tatort: Dortmund

Premieres September 17, 2024 (Beta Film).  

Please join us in welcoming yet another Tatort series to join the growing franchise on MHz Choice. Tatort: Dortmund features an ensemble cast tackling cases in rough neighborhoods as well as glitzy nightclubs. The cast is led by Chief Inspector Peter Faber (Jörg Hartmann, The Weissensee Saga) who is not an easy guy to be around, and Chief Detective Inspector Martina Bönisch (Anna Schudt) who is more analytical and cool-headed. Where Faber antagonizes during interrogations, Bönisch empathizes with all involved to really get at the core cause behind everyone’s actions.

See all of the Tatort series MHz Choice has available here.

Returning Series

The Belgian political thriller Pandora returns for a second season on September 17, 2024. This season Claire Delval (Anne Coesens) follows a new case with tech company Gaï-App, which has nefarious uses for government officials, including a familiar face from season one.

The classic Danish crime drama Unit One (DR) returns for a third and final season on September 10, 2024.

More Murder In…

Murder In… also continues with a new episode each week. New episodes this month include Bayeux, Cantal, Chantilly and Valbonne.

Also, a new season of Murder In…Dubbed Collection will premiere on September 17, 2024. You can find the original subtitled counterparts for all episodes of Murder In…(Dubbed) here.

ICYMI (In Case You Missed it)

With so much to peruse through we wanted to highlight a couple of stand-out shows that may have slipped under the radar since the Topic catalog became available on MHz Choice. Two series from the U.K. feature well-known and decorated actors taking on a lead role.

River

Stellan Skarsgård stars as Detective John River who is haunted by both his former colleague who was murdered as well as the victims of crimes he’s currently investigating.

Angela Black

Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey) stars as Angela who is struggling to escape an abusive and increasingly dangerous marriage.

There’s more of course. See the full list of all series from Topic.