Cannes Confidential is a brand-new romantic crime drama from Acorn TV set in the South of France, following the tempestuous relationship of detective Camille Delmasse (Clem star Lucie Lucas) and charismatic con artist Harry King (Beyond Paradise's Jamie Bamber).
The series is the first English-language procedural drama set and produced in the Cote d'Azur since the 1970s, and explores the blending of two worlds within the city — the yachts and the international jet set alongside the fishing boats and working-class locals — as shown when Harry breezes unexpectedly into Camille's life.
Here's everything we know about the series so far...
Cannes Confidential release date
Cannes Confidential launches in the UK and the US on Monday, June 26 on Acorn TV with its first two episodes.
The six-part series will drop two new episodes every Monday, with the last two arriving on Monday, July 10.
Cannes Confidential plot — what's it about?
Created by Chris Murray (Van Der Valk), Cannes Confidential is a high-concept detective series that follows the bickering, banter-filled relationship between detective Camille Delmasse and suave shyster Harry King.
Despite getting off on entirely the wrong foot, the pair begin solving crimes together on the French Riviera — and their relationship is made even more complicated by Camille's colleague Léa Robert (Profilage star Tamara Marthe) and a mutually beneficial arrangement they made to clear Camille's father, the former Chief of Police, from corruption charges.
Where is Cannes Confidential filmed?
The series was filmed in and around Cannes itself, gaining unprecedented access to film in the city.
Cannes Confidential episode guide
Episode 1 — Death Of A Jester (June 26): While trying to solve the murder of a famous street artist known only as "the Jester", Camille Delmasse and her trusted sidekick Léa Robert keep running into the charming but shady art collector Harry King, and Camille is expecting her father Philippe — the former Chief of Police — to be cleared from corruption charges. But Harry isn't really an art collector, and a surprising revelation about her father leaves Camille reeling — but can Harry help her find out who's responsible for framing Philippe?
Episode 2 — Creatures Of Habit (June 26): When the wife of a casino owner is poisoned to death in front of his friends and assistant, the finger of suspicion points at blacklisted gambler Roxie Roland — but there's no proof. So Harry helps Camille and Léa, because who better to take down a con artist than a fellow con artist? And keeping his side of the deal, Harry identifies the man threatening Camille's father.
Episode 3 — A Clear Conscience (July 3): A monk is found murdered below the Fort Royal on St Marguerite Island outside Cannes — the infamous island that was once the home of the man in the iron mask. Harry's friend Father Placid was a mentor to the dead monk so he assists in the investigation once again, but Léa is growing jealous of the time he and Camille are spending together. Meanwhile, Camille's father's nemesis Julien Boire targets her sister Margaux.
Episode 4 — The Deadlier Species (July 3): Camille and Léa are instructed to babysit arms dealer and billionaire Leo Duval at the Majestic Hotel, as he has been receiving death threats and rumour has it that the legendary assassin Nightshade has been hired to kill him. But Nightshade hasn't been seen for 15 years, so is the killer-for-hire really coming out of retirement? Harry and Camille grow closer as he acts as the guide in trying to stop the assassin.
Episode 5 — Southern Gothic (July 10): The son of famous conductor François Fontaine is found hanged after a séance. The Fontaine family are rumoured to be cursed after the victim's mother died in an asylum — but Camille doesn't believe in ghosts. As she, Léa and Harry pool their efforts to catch the real killer, they must navigate shady mediums and scorned lovers to reveal the truth. Meanwhile, Harry and Camille's attempts to lure Boire into a trap have serious consequences for Léa.
Episode 6 — Love And Let Die (July 10): During the Cannes Film Festival, Camille and Léa investigate the murder of Zina, assistant to famous actress Celeste Badeau — and Léa discovers that Zina's girlfriend is her ex-lover Eloise. Meanwhile, Boire crosses a line by threatening Harry's daughter, and Camille's father is finally about to be released...
Is there a trailer for Cannes Confidential?
There is! Check out a preview of the series below:
Jamie Bamber interview for Cannes Confidential
What can you tell us about Harry King?
"When I first read the script, I was immediately drawn to the tone of the project — I'm a child of the 80s and I remember all those fun Pink Panther movies, and Cary Grant films from a bit earlier, and this character sort of reminded me of all those things.
"He has an accident on the street with this policewoman, he's on a bike and she's in a car, and then he finds himself bumping into her and again and again, and gradually gets implicated in this murder enquiry that she's investigating. You don't really know anything about the character, but we start to suss out that he's probably up to no good! They get off on the wrong foot, and the bickering, the badinage, the back-and-forth drew me in, that sexual chemistry between two people who find each other intolerable."
How quickly did you develop that chemistry with your co-star Lucie?
"It was easy — Lucie's open to ideas and she's got a tremendous energy! The important thing with Harry and Camille is that they literally run into each other and they hate each other from the get-go from this prang that they have, and then 10 minutes later they're seeing each other at a grieving woman's villa and Harry's there serving a smoothie!
"The chemistry really is dependent on the explosive potential of this secret he's trying to hide from her. He happens to know a lot of characters involved in the supposed wrongful imprisonment of her dad, so they each have something that the other needs because she finds out about his multiple identities pretty quickly and he needs to quash that and make sure she doesn't investigate. So they have a quick agreement, and from that moment on they become this odd couple that works together solving cases — and then you throw in Tamara's character Léa, Camille's partner who's got designs on her as well, and you've got this odd love triangle at the heart of the show that's always on the move and always slightly irritating to the members involved!"
Was it easy to say yes to a job where you'd be filming in the South of France?
"As a big Francophile, I've lived in France quite a bit over my lifetime, so anything that gets me over the Channel for a couple of months is something I will entertain, for sure! But for this one it was more than that: I've played some dark, dramatic roles — Battlestar Galactica and Marcella spring to mind straight away — and I feel I'm a much lighter person than that, this guy felt a bit closer to who I am. Not so much the dark side or the potential con man — although I'm a multinational, so I do have multiple passports like him!
"The language was a big deal — you've got a mostly French cast who are speaking English, they're all troupers but they're working in a foreign language and I'm working in my mother tongue. But the shoe was on the other foot when we dubbed it into French — my French is pretty good so I was allowed to dub my own part, and the French actors would really come to the fore!"
Did you get very hot filming in Cannes?
"Yes — the most challenging thing I had to deal with was wearing a three-piece suit in the summer for three months and trying not to ruin it with perspiration! It was very warm. Pascale [Rodi], my dresser, did amazing work with portable fans, whipping one shirt off and drying it while I wore the other one, because I was wringing wet a lot of the time! It was fun to play a dapper character who's dextrous with words, but keeping the clothing vaguely dry because he's meant to be cool, and not sweating, was hard."
