Menu
Federation Entertainment to produce Monte Cristo,
a modern-day adaptation of the iconic novel by Alexandre Dumas
by Dan Franck and Jérôme Salle.
Paris, 18th February 2021
For immediate release
Federation Entertainment (Pascal Breton, Lionel Uzan) are pleased to announce the development of Monte-Cristo, 16 X 52min, an ambitious series adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, written by Dan Franck (Spin, Carlos, The Adventures of Modern Art) and directed by Jérôme Salle (The Odyssey, Zulu, Anthony Zimmer).
Dan Franck and Jérôme Salle have created a modern take on the famous tale of the Count of Monte Cristo. Their reworking tackles contemporary issues head-on and plunges Edmond Dantes, the main protagonist, into the heart of a strategic game of influence, power and revenge, set in the present day.
The series follows Edmond Dantes, a young man who had a bright future ahead of him, until the day he witnesses a dramatic event that he shouldn’t have bore witness to. A conspiracy is set in motion to silence him, and Dantes is exiled to a South American prison for several long, excruciating years. When he finally gets out of prison and returns to France, endowed with an immense fortune left to him by a fellow prisoner, Dantes, now known as Monet-Cortis (anagram of Monte Cristo), is prepared to go to any lengths to uncover what really happened and to seek his revenge. His anger and resentment are all the more real because he was framed by people he knew well. A group of so-called friends, who were fiercely ambitious, and amoral, but who are now in positions of great power. To bring about their demise, one by one, and to restore justice, Edmond Dantes infiltrates their close inner circle, and then sets about penetrating the mysteries of power and its most hidden secrets.
Dan Franck: »Adapting Monte Cristo is a project I have been thinking about for years and have now been working on for several months. It has enabled me to draw the portrait of a legendary hero who, one by one, takes down the people in power who tried to silence him. This adaptation has allowed me to strike the iron in the same spot as where Alexandre Dumas struck, at the very heart of the inner workings of finance, politics and privilege. It is a love story that ends, so that new passions may be born, the story of infinite suffering here and elsewhere, in Europe, Africa and America. Monte Cristo gives a voice to all, men and women alike: the reprobate, the condemned, the representatives of the people, judges, prosecutors, journalists, lawyers… As Alexandre Dumas conceived, Monte Cristo, the legendary book, is a cry against injustice, a hymn to hope, formerly a literary series, and now a TV series about current issues faced by society ».
Jérôme Salle: « Adapting this legendary novel was a childhood dream come true. This is a universal story with complex, intricate motives and unrivalled romantic strength. I firmly believe that Monte Cristo is still so relevant today and can tell the story of the world we live in, almost two hundred years after it was first published. This adaptation was an immense challenge, but it is without doubt the most exciting adventure I have ever been asked to take part in ».
Pascal Breton: “Monte Cristo is one of the most read novels throughout the world, one of which has often been spoiled for better and for worse by many series. Our new adaptation will be faithful to the spirit of Dumas to create a big contemporary French hero who embodies the fight and takes vengeance over all injustices’’.
