FanFare

In 1960 the French intelligence service hires 23-year-old André Merlaux, a handsome and intelligent, but impressionable man with much to learn. Au Service de la France is like a cocktail of James Bond, The Office and Mad Men if all three were transported to a French context and imbued with contemporary New Wave influences. First season appeared in 2014 and the second 2016. [more inside]
posted by rongorongo on Aug 29, 2023 - 8 comments

A young American woman from the Midwest is hired by a marketing firm in Paris to provide them with an American perspective on things. [more inside]
posted by elgilito on Oct 13, 2020 - 6 comments

Two con men try to settle their rivalry by betting on who can swindle a young American heiress out of $50,000 first. [more inside]
posted by MoonOrb on Apr 28, 2018 - 15 comments

Meanwhile, back on Earth....

• Trump's Press Secretary Sean Spicer digs an incredible hole for himself, first appearing to claim that President Bashar al-Assad of Syria was worse than Hitler because Hitler never used chemical weapons (he did), then that Hitler never used them against innocent people (he did), then making up the term "Holocaust centers" as the place where Jews were gassed.
• Trump meets with China president Xi Jinping, who apparently in 10 minutes convinced him to do what over half the United States desperately wanted him to do for months: learn a damn thing about North Korea. Alas they did so at Trump's Mar-a-Lago, having recently been cited for 13 health code violations. Trump continues to flip-flop on practically everything related to foreign policy, underscoring how desperately stupid his campaign was.
• Trump drops a "MOAB" (Mother Of All Bombs) on Afghanistan, causing euphoric celebration at Fox News from Geraldo Rivera. When directly asked if he had authorized the strike, Trump danced around the question.
• And Now: You Put Easter And Local News Together, And What Do You Fucking Expect?
• Main Story: The upcoming French Presidental elections, between 11 different candidates, at least three of which have been assaulted in public by citizens throwing baking ingredients. YouTube (18m)

[more inside]
posted by JHarris on Apr 18, 2017 - 8 comments

At a top Paris talent firm, Agence Samuel Kerr (ASK), agents scramble to keep their star clients happy and their business afloat. Andréa fires her assistant and hires a neophyte on a trial basis; Gabriel searches for a way to break bad news to aging Belgian star Cécile de France; and Mathias cleans up his partners' professional messes with aplomb, but can't seem to shake a past indiscretion.
posted by infinitewindow on Jan 26, 2017 - 5 comments

This week.... Terrorist attacks kill over a hundred people in Paris. Singles Day, a minor holiday turned into a gigantic sales event, hits the nation of China, and called in to promote it are foreign celebrities Adam Lambert, Daniel Craig and Kevin Spacey as, of all things, his House Of Cards character Frank Underwood. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays his first visit to the UK, while Indian industrialists prepare legal challenge for the return of the Koh-i-Noor, a huge diamond that currently serves as the centerpiece of the Queen's crown. And Now: Another One Of John McCain's Favorite Jokes. Main story: Daily fantasy sports apps DraftKings and FanDuel, and their skirting laws regulating gambling. Last Week Tonight provides a more honest ad for the apps than the ones they have been filling the airwaves with. YouTube (19m) [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Nov 18, 2015 - 4 comments

This week: The US Government pulls diplomats out of Yemen as Houthis take control of the country. Theaters saw the worldwide release of the movie version of Fifty Shades of Grey. Ecuador president Rafael Correa carps back at John Oliver on Twitter (Washington Post). How Is This Still A Thing: the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (YouTube, 3m). The main story (YouTube, 18m) is on the current boom times for the tobacco industry around the world, and the efforts they've gone through to ensure them, which include suing countries through international courts to repeal and prevent public health legislation. Oliver presents a new mascot for free use of the tobacco industry, Jeff the Diseased Lung in a Cowboy Hat. Twitter uses can show their support for Jeff with the hashtag #jeffwecan. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Feb 16, 2015 - 10 comments