DISNEY+ ANNOUNCES LEAD CASTING FOR FRENCH DISNEY+ ORIGINAL SERIES "MAUVAISE PIOCHE"

London, October 11, 2021 - Disney+ announced today the cast and director of MAUVAISE PIOCHE, a new ten-part French Original series that will be available exclusively in 2022 on Disney+. Filming on this comedy thriller series has just begun in Belgium.

MAUVAISE PIOCHE will be produced by Calt Studio (Xavier Matthieu) and BBC Studios France. An adaptation of the hit BBC Two series The Wrong Mans, originally created by James Corden, Mathew Baynton and Jim Field-Smith and co-produced by the BBC and Hulu, the series follows the outlandish adventures of Vincent and Alban. Vincent, in his thirties works for the Meurthe-et-Moselle departmental council; his girlfriend, Louise, who also happens to be his boss, has just dumped him. Alban, 45, works in the same building as Vincent. He still lives with his mother. When Vincent answers a call from a lost cell phone, at the scene of a car crash, he and Alban find themselves caught up in a dangerous web of crime and conspiracy that will turn their lives upside down.

The 10x30-minute series stars François Damiens (La Famille Bélier, Heartbreaker, Dikkenek) as impulsive and endearing Alban; Vincent Dedienne (La Flamme, Terrible Jungle, Parents d'élèves) as shy, steady, and sensible Vincent; Fanny Sidney (Call My Agent!, Breathe, Hippocrates: Diary of a French Doctor, Selfie) as Louise, Vincent's ex; and Anne Benoît (Paris, Farewell, My Queen, Lupin, Paris Police 1900, Lazy Company) as Alban's mother, Solange.

Anne Azoulay (Keplers, The Bureau), Laurent Capelluto (Black Spot, Into the Night, The Returned), Peter Van Den Begin, and Alexandre Trocki (Paris Police 1900) round out the cast.

Pauline Dauvin, VP, Programming, Production and Acquisitions, The Walt Disney Company France, said: "We loved the original series, and we love this lively adaptation, with its blend of humour, fast-paced action and touching emotional scenes. The prospect of seeing François Damiens and Vincent Dedienne working together is a delight in itself. Mauvaise Pioche promises to be a superb comedy thriller - a great addition to our line-up of French and European productions."

Xavier Matthieu, one of the series' co-producer and the co-founder of Calt Studio, added: "It was a really productive experience to work on Mauvaise Pioche with the French and international teams at Disney+, a key player in the family entertainment industry. More than a straight adaptation of the original, we set the action and characters in France, and Fred Scotlande's writing and direction gave the whole thing a uniquely offbeat tone."

Pierre-Marie Gadonneix, General Manager at BBC Studios France, and Gery Leymergie, Chief Content Officer for BBC Studios France added, "BBC Studios France has a proven track record at bringing new ideas and storytelling to French audiences across all genres. This is a brilliant comedic tale of two ordinary men finding themselves in extraordinary circumstances and we are delighted that Disney+ shared our enthusiasm and ambition to bring a new perspective to the story. It has been a pleasure to reimagine this story for French and international viewers with Disney+ and we look forward to sharing Mauvaise Pioche with a wide audience."

MAUVAISE PIOCHE will be produced by Calt Studio and BBC Studios France, producers of hit French drama series such as Infidéle and Luther, alongside long-running popular entertainment shows Le Meilleur Pâtissier, Top Gear France, and Danse avec les stars. The series is directed by Fred Scotlande (Far from Home) from a screenplay by Fred Scotlande and Chloé Marçais (The Red Band Society, Fais pas ci, fais pas ça).

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ABOUT DISNEY+

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About Calt Studio

Co-founded by Jean-Yves Robin, chairman of the Robin&Co Group, and Xavier Matthieu, producer, writer and series creator (H for Canal+, among others), Calt Studio specializes in the production of series, both for local and global market. After overseeing the executive and artistic production of Chefs for French channel France 2, the company went on to produce the series Moloch (Best Screenplay at Canneséries in 2020) for French-German channel Arte and Gone for Good, based on Harlan Coben's bestseller, for Netflix. Official Site: https://www.robinandco.com/calt-studio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CALTStudio/?ref=pages_you_manage Robin&Co Official Site: https://www.robinandco.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobinAndCo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robin_and_co/?hl=fr

About BBC Studios

BBC Studios France is a wholly-owned French subsidiary of BBC Studios, Ltd., the commercial production and distribution arm of the BBC. BBC Studios, a global content company with bold British creativity at its heart, is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC Group, supporting the licence fee and enhancing programmes for UK audiences. Able to take an idea seamlessly from thought to screen and beyond, its activities span content financing, development, production, sales, branded services, and ancillaries across both its own productions, and programmes and formats made by high-quality UK independents. Award-winning British programmes made by the business are internationally recognised across a broad range of genres and specialisms, with brands like Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing with the Stars, Top Gear, Doctor Who and Bluey. BBC.com, BBC Studios' global digital news platform, provides up-to-the-minute international news, in-depth analysis and features to more than 145 million unique browsers each month. BBC Studios has offices in over 20 markets globally, including ten production bases in the UK and production bases or partnerships in a further seven countries around the world. The company, which ordinarily makes around 2000 hours of content a year for both the BBC and third parties including Apple, Netflix and Migu, is a champion for British creativity around the world. It is also a committed partner for the UK's independent sector through a mix of equity partnerships, content investment and international distribution for programme titles.