Les Revenants: The confusing tale of ABC's "Resurrection" and A&E's direct "adaptation"

As I scour the internet for various clues about how fans of Les Revenants feel about Resurrection, it has been stated by many Reddit users that Resurrection is not in fact, an adaptation of Canal+'s Les Revenants.

Resurrection is an ABC series distributed through Disney Media Distribution (further production information can also be found through the Resurrection Wikipedia Page)

However, as with any form of television media, intellectual property right may be at play, and although the genesis of Resurrection is said to stem from the book The Returned by Jason Mott according to an article on hollywoodreporter.com , while Les Revenants is said to have stemmed from a french movie (Les Revenants) whose title translates to They Came Back

What exactly does all of this mean?

While the two shows are "allegedly" not the same, both are based off of central concepts of the dead returning and reintegrating to society (without zombification aspects; e.g eating people), heavy food consumption with the dead such as consistent snacking (based on episode one of Resurrection, and all episodes of Les Revenants that I have seen) as well as featuring a young male pro/antagonist for one of the central characters.

Les Revenants Victor

Resurrection's Jacob 

While browsing through the r/lesrevenants thread on Reddit, I came across a thread that was titled: 

"Things that will be changed for the American version.." [the entire thread can be accessed through this link for further detail] 

Aside from one user griping about the lack of nudity and show setting, a user by the name of Overdrivex stated: "I don't think there is an American version in production. There's an English language version in development with the title They Came Back but the rights are held by AbbottVision/Fremantle who are British, and then there's the totally unrelated Resurrection from ABC".    

While another user, transmigrant,  rebutted:  It's weird they say Resurrection has no connection when the plot sounds identical:

"The series follows the residents of Arcadia, Missouri, whose lives are upended when their loved ones return from the dead, unaged since their deaths. Among the returned is Jacob Langston, an eight-year-old boy who drowned 32 years earlier." AKA Victor (Though shot about 32 years earlier).   

Joining in on transmigrant's observation was user eugeniusmith that wrote in response to transmigrant's claim:  Agreed. Based on the commercials I immediately assumed Resurrection was an American version of a British version of the French show.   

One can easily see how the two shows could be confused as adaptations, or directly linked to adaptations based on core show concepts, and as eugeniusmith pointed out, commercials. 

There was also another thread that asked if Resurrection was similar to Les Revenants which can be read in-depth here  where users disagree that the ABC show has little to nothing to do with the French show. 

A&E however has other plans in store for Les Revenants fans, ordering a 10 episode "adaptation" of the television series. According to an article from deadline.com A&E has ordered The Returned to be made for their network and acquired rights to the series last fall. 

Also according to denofgeek.com (where the full article can be accessed through this link) there is officially only one, US adaptation of Les Revenants titled The Returned. There was some slight confusion it seemed with a UK version also being commissioned however, as clarified within the article: 

Contrary to the below, we've learned that the newly announced A&E remake is one and the same as the FremantleMedia adaptation formerly attached to production company, AbbottVision. Paul Abbott is no longer working on the project.


So what exactly does this mean to fans? Who knows, but one thing is for sure, those slight majority that are a fan of Les Revenants that have decided to give Resurrection a go are not, as it seems "fans". 

Quoting from Reddit user mybackwardswalk: If you like the basic plot but hate the actual show watch the French series Les Revenants (2012). I can't stop comparing Resurrection to it, and Resurrection is just rubbish in comparison. Even though they're not based on the same book/film. 

The full thread can be located, here. 

                                      

Les Revenants: The Problems of Viewing

After first reading about Les Revenants, I was trying to figure out exactly how to watch the television show not having cable, or friends with cable.

The show originally aired on French Canal+ (2012), and US channel Sundance TV(2013).

Figuring out streaming sites is also somewhat tumultuous, however with the Hola extension, it allows those in the US to stream content up on the original channels websites for free. Currently on the website canalplus  are streams of US TV shows such as "Scandal" and "Dracula".

Google has also made navigating foreign websites a tiny bit easier with having an option to translate the webpage to your native language at the top of the page, although not all aspects of the page would translate.

Moving on, Les Revenants was FINALLY available on Netflix about a month or so after I had originally finished streaming the TV show online.

While searching through various sites for fan activity such as the Reddit feed, and Facebook page, I did not find much complaining about the fact that the show is primarily subtitles over French language.

I did manage to find one instance of dubbing in another language through the Les Revenants Reddit feed which can be found in German.

The shows availability in other countries has also been a topic of discussion on forums such as Reddit and Facebook. Although the show has a cult-esq following, Reddit users have updated when the shows have become available in their countries. Mainly, Australia and Canada

The US has also "adapted" their own version titled Resurrection  albeit "loosely" based off of the french original (this comes into further question in a later post), this show too chronicles the lives of people returning from the dead and the consequences it brings to their loved ones and towns. This adaptation along with a compare and contrast of French and US versions will be addressed in a separate post.

Although the internet has made streaming before foreign shows air in the fans country of choice a possibility, I find it interesting that fans in other countries update when Les Revenants is being shown on their cable TV channels- which possibly assumes that some people that are interested in the show have not yet seen it, and are also seeking out information on how watching the show is available to them.

Here is a trailer for the show, FINALLY. While searching for a trailer to watch, I also came across various fanvids, which will also be discussed in another post.

*Any additional information not directly linked can be found on the Les Revenants Wikipedia Page, and the Les Revenants Reddit Thread

Les Revenants: An Introduction.

I first discovered Les Revenants through an article my once favorite scholar Anne Helen Petersen did with The Hairpin, which can be found here. 

I thought, "Oh, well if Anne endorses it, AND amazing instrumental native Scottish band Mogwai did the soundtrack then I have to give this show a shot".

I was super glad I did. I'm usually all for anything slightly depressing and chaotic, but this show absolutely mastered the real. Although the show is completely fictional and based off of the original french film They Came Back it appeals to the emotions and tugs on the heartstrings of the hopes and dreams of the deceased coming back. What would happen? How would you spend more time with them? How would that alter the life you currently live?

I binge watched all 8 episodes of this show in one night, subtitles and all, and when attempting to come up with a question for my Global Media Mapping Project, I saw the resolution staring me right in the face- especially since ABC commissioned the adaptation "Resurrection" which is "loosely based" off of its French predecessor.

You might also be thinking Why are you doing this on a blog, as opposed to another form of media?  Well, savvy blog user, I am dedicating a blog to this project because how else do fan communities transpire around their texts of choice aside from internet usage? It is easiest to submit to fan communities of forums, host sites like Reddit or Facebook, or perhaps even a chat room or two.

So, with all of this into consideration I still ask, How do fans interact with adaptations from original texts? 

A few limitations are already in my way since

1. I do not natively speak french, and translation sites are often a muck up.
2. I can only seem to find information on fan forums from the US fan base, as opposed to the french fan base
3. How is the word "adaptation" used when discussing Resurrection and Les Revenants?

Until then, enjoy this great picture of Pierre Perrier, who plays Sam on Canal+ Les Revenants

*Any additional information not directly cited can be found on the Les Revenants Wikipedia Page