‘All Those Things We Never Said’ Showrunner Marc Levy: “After Covid I Felt Overwhelmed By Division And This Is A Story Of Reunification”

Marc Levy, the author and showrunner behind Starzplay/Studiocanal’s upcoming All Those Things We Never Said, was driven to adapt the show for TV after a year of being “overwhelmed by division.”

Speaking at today’s Mipcom alongside Studiocanal execs, Levy said he relished “being able to tell a story in 300 minutes where there was no blood, violence or hate.”

“Maybe in our unconscious this is what we wanted to talk about right now and is why we chose this book to adapt,” said Levy, who has been working alongside director Miguel Courtois and lead Jean Reno.

“After a year of Covid I felt overwhelmed by division and this is a story of reunion, of reunification.”

The 10 x 30-minute drama is being produced for the new-look alliance of Starzplay and Studiocanal by French indie TCC, with Starzplay taking UK and Irish rights and Studiocanal to air the drama on Canal+ in a number of markets and holding worldwide distribution rights.

It follows Julia, who finds out three days before her wedding that her father has died. Her father’s coffin, however, contains a lifesized android that’s the spitting image of him and this android convinces her to head off on a road trip to make up for lost time.

“It’s fluid,” said Levy. “There are no artificial tricks to make the viewer understand but what we wanted is for the viewer to be in the head of Julia.”

Audiences will also be able to see Leon star Reno in a new light, added Levy.

“Jean is very secretive,” he said. “He comes from the generation where you don’t talk much about your feelings. I knew this would be a Jean that we have not had as much opportunity to see.”

‘Increased footprint’ in France and UK

Speaking alongside Levy in a session entitled ‘Adapting To Keep On Winning’,  Studiocanal’s EMD TV Series Françoise Guyonnet said the production-distribution giant is likely to “increase footprint” in France and UK in the near future, although she added no further comment.

Studiocanal is also ramping up its German-speaking TV series offering after acquiring Wild Republic producer Lailaps Films over the summer.