# Baron Noir

Baron Noir (screened as Republican Gangsters in some markets) is a French political drama television series which premiered on Canal+ on 8 February 2016. The series was developed by Eric Benzekri [fr] and Jean-Baptiste Delafon [fr].

## Premise

Baron Noir is the political and judicial saga of Philippe Rickwaert, member of Parliament and mayor of Dunkerque, who is driven by an irrepressible thirst for personal revenge. Between rounds of the presidential election, he sees his future collapse when his mentor, the leftist candidate, sacrifices him to save his campaign. Determined to reinvent his career, Rickwaert uses cunning and connections to win political fights against those who betrayed him, creating a new alliance with the closest adviser of his enemy. Formidable but uncontrollable, conflicted between truth and lies, cultivating friendships in all strata of society (including within the police and organized crime), Philippe Rickwaert's life dissolves into a fascinating organised chaos. Rickwaert takes the fight to his opponents - and to his own demons - at every opportunity.

## Cast
### Main

* Kad Merad as Philippe Rickwaert
* Niels Arestrup as Francis Laugier (Season 1)
* Anna Mouglalis as Amélie Dorendeu
* Hugo Becker as Cyril Balsan
* Astrid Whettnall as Véronique Bosso
* François Morel as Michel Vidal

### Recurring

* Laurent Spielvogel as Armand Chambolle
* Jade Phan-Gia as Françoise Levasseur
* Lubna Gourion as Salomé Rickwaert
* Scali Delpeyrat as Martin Borde
* Philippe Résimont as Daniel Kalhenberg
* Eric Caruso as Laurent Mirmont
* Erika Sainte as Fanny Alvergne
* Maryne Bertieaux as Alison

### Guest
#### Season 1

* Michel Voïta as Jean-Marc Auzanet
* Jean-Pierre Martins as Bruno Rickwaert
* Michel Muller as Gérard Balleroy
* Mahdi Belemlih as Medhi Fateni
* Patrick Rocca as Alain Chistera
* Alban Aumard as Sylvain Buisine
* Yannick Morzelle as Bruce Rickwaert
* Rémy Stiel as Jordan Rickwaert
* Marie Lanchas as Elodie Jacquemot
* Alain Pointier as Jean-Pierre Barthélémy
* Stéphane Ropa as Boris Valentin
* Phénix Brossard as Sébastien
* Damien Jouillerot as Toph
* Alain Pronnier as Eddy
* Jean-Erns Marie-Louise as Ménadier
* Brigitte Froment as Maryse
* Léon Plazol as Théo
* Sébastien Beuret as Arthur

#### Season 3

* Marie-France Alvarez as Malika

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 8 | 8 | February 8, 2016 (2016-02-08) | February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29) |
| 2 | 8 | 8 | February 22, 2018 (2018-02-22) | February 12, 2018 (2018-02-12) |
| 3 | 8 | 8 | February 10, 2020 (2020-02-10) | March 2, 2020 (2020-03-02) |

### Season 1 (2016)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | France viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "Jupiter" | Unknown | Unknown | February 8, 2016 (2016-02-08) | N/A |
| 2 | 2 | "1932" | Unknown | Unknown | February 8, 2016 (2016-02-08) | N/A |
| 3 | 3 | "Solférino" | Unknown | Unknown | February 15, 2016 (2016-02-15) | N/A |
| 4 | 4 | "Bleu" | Unknown | Unknown | February 15, 2016 (2016-02-15) | N/A |
| 5 | 5 | "Grenelle" | Unknown | Unknown | February 22, 2016 (2016-02-22) | N/A |
| 6 | 6 | "Shutdown" | Unknown | Unknown | February 22, 2016 (2016-02-22) | N/A |
| 7 | 7 | "Pianoforte" | Unknown | Unknown | February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29) | N/A |
| 8 | 8 | "Pardon" | Unknown | Unknown | February 29, 2016 (2016-02-29) | N/A |

### Season 2 (2018)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | France viewers (millions) |
| 9 | 1 | "Twins" | Unknown | Unknown | January 22, 2018 (2018-01-22) | N/A |
| 10 | 2 | "Tourniquet" | Unknown | Unknown | January 22, 2018 (2018-01-22) | N/A |
| 11 | 3 | "Haram" | Unknown | Unknown | January 29, 2018 (2018-01-29) | N/A |
| 12 | 4 | "Conversion" | Unknown | Unknown | January 29, 2018 (2018-01-29) | N/A |
| 13 | 5 | "Chouquette" | Unknown | Unknown | February 5, 2018 (2018-02-05) | N/A |
| 14 | 6 | "Remontada" | Unknown | Unknown | February 5, 2018 (2018-02-05) | N/A |
| 15 | 7 | "Diprotodon" | Unknown | Unknown | February 12, 2018 (2018-02-12) | N/A |
| 16 | 8 | "Sorpasso" | Unknown | Unknown | February 12, 2018 (2018-02-12) | N/A |

### Season 3 (2020)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | France viewers (millions) |
| 17 | 1 | "Check up" | Unknown | Unknown | February 10, 2020 (2020-02-10) | N/A |
| 18 | 2 | "Diaspora" | Unknown | Unknown | February 10, 2020 (2020-02-10) | N/A |
| 19 | 3 | "#MeToo" | Unknown | Unknown | February 17, 2020 (2020-02-17) | N/A |
| 20 | 4 | "Inventaire" | Unknown | Unknown | February 17, 2020 (2020-02-17) | N/A |
| 21 | 5 | "Satanas" | Unknown | Unknown | February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24) | N/A |
| 22 | 6 | "Oui" | Unknown | Unknown | February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24) | N/A |
| 23 | 7 | "Brüder" | Unknown | Unknown | March 2, 2020 (2020-03-02) | N/A |
| 24 | 8 | "Ahou!" | Unknown | Unknown | March 2, 2020 (2020-03-02) | N/A |

## Development and production

On 29 February 2016, Eric Benzekri, the writer of the series announced that the season 2 will be shot during the next presidential and it was aired in 2018. Season 3 debuted in February 2020.

## Reception

The TV Series was very well received by French critics. Le Monde, L'Obs, Les Inrockuptibles, Metro International, Paris Match and Télérama gave the first season 4 out of 5 stars. L'Express and Libération gave 3.5 out of 5 stars.

## Accolades

| Year | Awards | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2016 | ACS Award | Best TV Series | Canal+ | Nominated |
| 2016 | ACS Award | Best Writer | Eric Benzekri & Jean-Baptiste Delafon | Nominated |
| 2016 | ACS Award | Best Director | Ziad Doueiri | Nominated |
| 2016 | ACS Award | Best Actor | Niels Arestrup | Nominated |
| 2016 | ACS Award | Best Actor | Kad Merad | Won |
| 2016 | ACS Award | Best Actress | Anna Mouglalis | Nominated |
| 2016 | ACS Award | Best Production | Kwaï | Nominated |
| 2017 | Globes de Cristal Award | Best TV Series | Eric Benzekri & Jean-Baptiste Delafon | Nominated |
| 2017 | Trophées du Film Français | Best Writer-Producer | Thomas Bourguignon, Eric Benzekri & Jean-Baptiste Delafon | Won |
| 2017 | 45th International Emmy Awards | Best Actor | Kad Merad | Nominated |