Acorn TV's 'Cannes Confidential' Sets a Premiere Date Just in Time For Summer

After several false starts, Acorn TV’s Cannes Confidential finally has a premiere date stateside. The series was commissioned just before the pandemic shut down the world in 2020, heralded as the first English-language procedural drama produced and set in the Cote d’Azur since the 1970s. Unfortunately for Acron TV, its closest competitor, BritBox, rushed to match with Murder in Provence and, with a much smaller episode order and scope, got it made and streaming by March 2022, before Cannes Confidential even managed to get filming off the ground.

The series hails from Chris Murray, best known for his work on Acorn TV’s hit mystery series Agatha Raisin, and was done through an exclusive partnership with the City of Cannes, giving the show unprecedented access to film in the city, with plans that the series will introduce viewers to a rarely seen view of Cannes, “beyond the yachts and A-listers, with its fishing boats, local tradesmen, and working-class characters.” 

The original release date, announced as April 2023, found itself inexplicably pushed back in America, debuting at the 6th annual CANNESERIES festival in Cannes, France, but with no sign of the series for Spring stateside. Thankfully, it was a shorter delay than with filming, and the series will now arrive in summer 2023, at the tail end of June, debuting with two episodes a week at the height of the season. Unlike Happy Valley, this is an Acorn TV exclusive and will not be available on AMC+, BBC America, Sundance Now, or any of AMC Network’s other brands.

Here's the show's synopsis:

Cannes Confidential is a high-concept detective series centered on the bicker-banter relationship between no-nonsense detective Camille Delmasse and charming international conman Harry King. Thrown together solving crimes on the French Riviera, Camille and Harry’s relationship lies at the heart of the show against a luxurious Cannes backdrop. Camille and Harry’s chemistry is complicated by Camille’s colleague and wing-woman, Léa Robert, and a deal they make to free Camille’s ex-Chief of Police father from corruption charges. The two worlds of the City of Cannes and two versions of reality will collide and be reflected in the personalities of the two main characters.

The series stars French TV-drama actor Lucie Lucas (Clem) as Camille Delmasse, Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) as Harry King and singer/actor Tamara Marthe/Shy'm (Profilage) as Léa Robert. Costars include Jean-Hugues Anglade (Versailles), Anaïs Weill (Emily in Paris), Thomas Alden (Marie Antoinette), Rupert Wynne-James (INK), Olivia Gotanègre (Sam), and Vincent Nemeth (Julie Lescaut). Camille Delamarre (Into The Night) directed all six episodes.

Cannes Confidential will premiere on Monday, June 26, with two episodes on Acorn TV, with two new episodes a week to follow every Monday through July 10, 2023.