The Reunion is an intense drama series that has everything, from the mysterious disappearance of a French student Vinca, to a gruesome murder and the destructive power of a decades-old obsession, all set against the stunning backdrop of the French Riviera.
Based on the bestseller by French novelist Guillaume Musso and from director Bill Eagles (Gotham, Pennyworth), the series stars British actor Ioan Gruffudd as tortured novelist Thomas Degalais who is desperately trying to find answers on what happened to Vinca. The also features Dervla Kirwan, Rupert Graves and Mr Selfridge actor Grégory Fitoussi.
So here’s everything you need to know about The Reunion on ITV1 and ITVX…
The Reunion release date
The Reunion is a six-part thriller starting on ITV1 from Friday August 4, starting with a double episode at 9pm and 10pm. The rest of the series will play out weekly on ITV1. The drama has already been showing on ITVX from Thursday 12 January 2023. We will update with any US or international dates and channels.
* All you need to know about streaming service ITVX.
Is there a trailer for The Reunion?
Yes a trailer for The Reunion has been released by ITV. Looks good! Do take a look below to see how the mystery plays out...
The Reunion plot
The Reunion tells the story of beguiling French student Vinca Rockwell who went missing one night in mysterious circumstances after discovering she was pregnant. Now, 25 years later, her three former friends reconnect at their school reunion in the French Riviera, including novelist Thomas Degalais (Ioan Gruffudd), who was obsessed with Vinca and returns to France determined to find out why she vanished.
But it transpires that the three friends remain bound together by some twisted secrets of that fateful night and, as the story unfolds, it’s revealed that Thomas and his friend Maxime are connected to a violent murder related to Vinca’s 1997 disappearance that could destroy everything.
"Thomas is still obsessed with Vinca, he can’t let her go," says Ioan Gruffudd. ‘The only way he can get some finality is by going back and when he gets this invitation he can’t help himself. He wants to come back and try to piece together what happened. It’s also revealed that there has also been a murder in the past, which Thomas and his friends were directly involved in!"
The Reunion cast
Here are the main players in The Reunion...
Ioan Gruffudd as Thomas Degalais
Ioan stars as novelist Thomas, who has lived his life obsessed by Vinca’s disappearance and their unresolved relationship. He’s started his career in ITV’s Hornblower and has appeared in the films 102 Dalmatians, Black Hawk Down and King Arthur. He’s also starred in Liar and in the Australian crime drama Harrow.
Dervla Kirwan as Annabelle Degalais
Despite being only 2 years older than Ioan Gruffudd in real life, Dervla takes on the role as Thomas’s cold mother, who’s hiding a past sacrifice. She’s best known for her roles in Ballykissangel, Goodnight Sweetheart and recent Netflix thriller The Stranger.
Rupert Graves as Richard Degalais
Rupert is 10 years older than Ioan yet plays Thomas’s father, Richard, a local lothario who has an unconventional marriage. Rupert starred as DI Greg Lestrade in BBC1’s Sherlock, and has appeared in the films A Room with a View, The Madness of King George and Emma.
Grégory Fitoussi as Maxime Biancardini
The French actor plays Thomas’s best friend Maxime. He’s appeared in the British dramas Mr Selfridge, Beecham House and Peaky Blinders.
Who else is starring in The Reunion?
Other cast for The Reunion includes Vahina Giocante (Riviera) who plays Thomas’s other school friend, Fanny Brahimi, while Ukrainian-American actress Ivanna Sakhno (Pacific Rim Uprising) stars as the beguiling Vinca Rockwell in flashback scenes. The cast also includes Salome Gunnarrsdottir (Pennyworth) and Shemss Audat (Spiral).
Interview: Ioan Gruffudd on playing Thomas Degalais in The Reunion
What can you reveal about Thomas and his role in the story?
Ioan says: "Thomas left the South of France, where he studied at the International School in the early 1990s, in order to become a novelist. But, against his better judgement, he returns for this high-school reunion because he’s still obsessed with Vinca Rockwell, the girl he was in love with back then. She disappeared one night and he decides to come back to try and piece together that mystery. At the same time, it’s revealed that there has also been a murder in the past, which Thomas and his friends were directly involved in. So when he returns to the South of France, that catches up with him and the whole mystery starts to unravel."
How would you sum him up as a character?
Ioan says: "He’s someone who’s running away from his past. He’s an obsessive character and he’s especially obsessed with Vinca. I think she lives on in all of the novels he’s subsequently written and he can’t let her go. He feels a bit empty inside and he’s searching for closure, and I think the only way he can get some finality is by going back. He gets this invitation to the reunion and he can’t help himself. I also think his upbringing was probably a little bit cold and distant. His parents were teachers at the school he attended and it’s revealed across the six episodes that they aren’t what they seem, either!"
What appealed to you about this drama?
Ioan says: "I just loved the story and the script. For me, it always starts with, ‘Who’s the character, what’s hidden in there for me to get my teeth into?’ Then you add the South of France into the mix as well and I just thought, I’ve got to do this!"
Had you already read the novel?
Ioan says: "No, the novel was completely new to me. But its themes and the story really resonate, especially for people of my age because it’s partly about being young in the early 90s. It’s deliberately set in an international school and you can imagine how, as a young person, being thrust into that environment might influence you and how it would never really leave you."
What do you feel sets this series apart from other thrillers?
Ioan says: "I think the murder-mystery speaks for itself, because who doesn’t love one of those? Then you have the psychological aspect of how the truth will always find a way to come out and catch up with you. You can see the pain Thomas is in and the struggles the other characters have had trying to escape what they did back then, but then Thomas comes back and reminds them of the past. His presence sets off all this intrigue and everyone’s lives unravel!"
How did you find filming in the South of France?
Ioan says: "Getting to film in that part of the world had a profound effect on me, for sure. I’d never worked there before, so to see it in all its majesty and its glory was magical. It’s also different to filming in America where it doesn’t matter if you do lots of overtime. There’s such a reference towards filmmaking in France. You finish when you’re supposed to finish, so you get to have your evening and your dinner – it’s very civilised!"
The Reunion episode guide
The Reunion is also available on ITVX as a box set as well as weekly on ITV1. Here's a brief guide to the six epsiodes. Do beware of spoilers and look away if you don't want to know...
Episode 1
Novelist Thomas Degalais (Ioan Gruffudd) returns to his international school in Cap d’Antibes for a 25-year anniversary reunion, determined to discover what happened to his pregnant ex lover Vinca Rockwell (Ivanna Sakhno), who vanished in 1997. But as the episode unfolds, it transpires Thomas and his old school friend Maxime Biancardini (Grégory Fitoussi) are hiding a long-held secret that they killed philosophy teacher Alexis Clément after becoming convinced he’d sexually assaulted Vinca.
Episode 2
As Thomas continues his obsessive search for Vinca, he comes under pressure from the French cops when the skeletal remains of teacher Alexis Clément are discovered in the basement of the school’s gym, along with 100,000 francs in his discarded locker. But things take another extraordinary twist when Thomas is sent photographs revealing that his father, Richard (Rupert Graves), had been having an affair with Vinca in the months before she vanished 25 years ago!
Episode 3
Thomas’s childhood sweetheart Fanny Brahimi (Vahina Giocante) goes to increasingly bizarre lengths to protect Thomas. Having seemingly killed a patient to stop him blabbing about the whereabouts of Alexis Clément’s remains, she also kidnaps Pauline Delatour, the woman creepily impersonating Vinca. Meanwhile, Maxime’s father Francis goes missing, and Thomas and Maxime get a horrible shock when some digging amongst Vinca’s belongings proves they killed the wrong Alexis.
Episode 4
With the net closing in on Thomas and Maxime, there’s another twist in store when Thomas discovers that his mother, Annabelle (Dervla Kirwan), has been having a decades-long affair with Francis. Not only that, but Francis is Thomas’s biological father, meaning Maxime is his brother! But there’s no time for Thomas to process the shock, because Francis is being held hostage by the true Alexis, who’s out for some sort of revenge, and Maxime is on a dangerous mission to find him before it’s too late…
Episode 5
With Maxime in a coma in hospital after the horrors of the night before, Annabelle confronts her husband, Richard, and orders him to take the rap for Alexis Clément’s murder to save Thomas from jail. Meanwhile, Thomas’s ex Fanny makes an emotional confession that she poisoned Vinca out of jealousy on that snowy night 25 years ago. But could she be mistaken?
Episode 6
The thriller reaches its dramatic finale, as Thomas discovers that the murderer isn’t Fanny but someone much closer to home, while finally learning the identity of the true Alexis and what really happened to Vinca all those years ago. There’s also a dramatic showdown, two further deaths, and even the hint that Vinca could still be alive…
