It is well known: young people no longer watch television. For Gen Z, the small screen is that of their smartphone, where they spend (too much) time scrolling. So to conquer this audience that is deserting traditional television, France Télévisions is going to find them where they are: on social networks.
The public service is launching its very first fully vertical series, “P*tain de soirée,” broadcast on no TV channel. In charge of this original creation are Roman Doduik and Quentin Pissot, who met during the filming of “Zonz,” a France TV Slash series.
“P*tain de soirée” unfolds the surprise birthday party of Angèle (Lou Howard), organized by her best friend Simon (Roman Doduik). When he learns that she’s flying to Canada without a return ticket, he decides to declare his love for her. A bit of a coward, Simon is supported by his best friend Théo (Denez Raoul) and his twelve-year-old sister, Sasha (Katell Varvat). But he will encounter several obstacles, starting with Angèle’s ex, Ben (Léo Vazzoler).
The whole team was at the Canneséries festival to present the twenty three-minute episodes before their broadcast, which will start from April 27th. An episode will be published every day on the TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Facebook accounts of Slash, as well as those of Roman Doduik.
The actor, also a comedian and influencer, is followed by nearly three million subscribers on TikTok and one million on YouTube, where he already publishes homemade sketches and fiction. With “P*tain de soirée,” the level goes up a notch. “We had to find a way to tell a love story vertically, in a very short format, without turning it into a sketch,” explains Roman Doduik at Cannes.
France Télévisions wanted to produce a “premium” series, in contrast to the Chinese micro-dramas trending on TikTok, produced quickly and partially by AI. Visually, “P*tain de soirée” looks like a classic series, with better direction than many long fiction series on streaming platforms.
For director Félix Guimard, verticality was not a constraint; rather, “It’s just a format.” He had to think about leaving space for captions and like and comment buttons that appear on TikTok and Instagram.
“Watching rather than scrolling”
The pace is also tailored to social media. To capture the attention of the declining Gen Z, the series leaves no room for downtime. The plot moves quickly, the editing is ultra-dynamic, and each episode ends with a cliffhanger (making a total of nineteen in less than an hour).
As with its sources of inspiration, “Ptain de soirée” uses big clichés and is not always subtle, but that’s normal. For a series aimed at a very young audience, it even manages to stand out with exaggerated acting. So what if it doesn’t please the regular TV viewers. That’s fine, they are not invited to this “Ptain de soirée.”
