A Very Secret Service S1-S2

Nostalgia is the name of the game in this amusing series pocking fun at France and its secret service. French bureaucracy is notoriously labyrinthine, even in the secret service and the first episode of the series its amazingly funny, showing the poor, disoriented Andrè trying to find his way in his new office. Andrè's colleagues, in charge of Africa, Algeria and Eastern Europe are despicable, self-serving, arrogant men, the way French can do very well. His superior is an enigma and - apparently- his father is a priest... Female characters are also interesting and not bi-dimensionsional, even if there is an inevitable femme fatale. Each episode is a mere 30 minutes and develops independently, while carrying a main plot involving the higher hierarchy. Although nowadays it is impossible to watch a show without an agenda, this one is at least threading lightly and for sure it's funny.

In 1960, the French intelligence service takes on a new employee, one Andre Merlaux. Young, handsome, smart, and naive, Merlaux learns the business from the older men, some of whom do not go by the book. This is a very funny comedy that pokes fun at government organizations and the personal agendas of a CIA type, which is what they really service. In the end, the writers are comparing government officials with criminals, and they're coming out the same. What a shock. The best for me were the American agents telling the French ones that they had plenty on JFK. What? The French ask. "He has an eye for the ladies." The French just look at them. "He sleeps around." Same looks, indicating that the French view of marriage, even for politicians, is different. Hugo Becker, as Andre, is adorable, and he has a delightful love story with the young woman at the tailor's, Sophie (Mathile Warnier). Part of one episode is a salute to Godard's A Bout de Soufflé, known here as Breathless, a French New Wave film. Fortunately for me, who detests French New Wave, all we see is one frame of Jean Seberg. Andre, however, is terribly impressed because people talk like they're not in a movie. Totally worth seeing. You'll love the crazy characters and how blatant they are in their chicanery.

This Netflix Original production is a send-up of the French secret service, French bureaucracy, French colonialism and numerous other aspects of things stereotyped as French. It is brilliantly written, directed and acted. I find myself frequently laughing out loud. A show like this could quickly devolve into being played too broadly (think of "Get Smart") but this one doesn't. It maintains its edge by keeping a wry seriousness hand-in-hand with its lunacy. There are times when the show is even somewhat dark but it never loses its comic heart. There is only one season (2015) playing on Netflix streaming video at this time. I don't know if they made a second season, but I hope so! In French with English subtitles.

The first - the performance of Hugo Becker . The second- lovely humor in different and seductive nuances. Not the last - the cliches and stereotypes, wise used for the perfect atmosphere and for the resurrection of a lot of memories about films of same genre. Short - just a delight.

Not since Mel Brooks...Peter Sellers or even Allo Allo have I seen anything as well scripted and directed as good as this show...top of its class....i recommend you give it a look for yourself...brilliant...

This is one of the best series on Netflix! The actors are incredibly on point and own their characters! Excellent writing, film production and directing. Bravo to the French! I can't think of any American film or series that comes close to this kind of Satire! Their lines are quick and witty without that Annoying American laugh track!

This show starts well with fun opening credits, great parodic music, good actors, and a seductive premise (it is a spy genre parody, and we can expect hilarity, right?) but, sadly, this is not on the level of OSS177 Cairo Nest Of Spies: the writing is inconsistent and the laughs are rare. I hung in there for 6 episodes and gave up: the main characters are idiots or nasty or both, some will appear and vanish for no reason, they all amount to sophomoric caricatures, the storylines are thin or scattered, and the jokes fall flat most of the time. The suit "joke" , for instance, is stretched for so long that it becomes irritating instead of being funny- it is bad timing or bad writing, or both. My advice to the producers of this series: keep the actors, keep the set designers and the music composer... but hire better writers.

A lot of reviews praise and value this comedy series, set in the sixties, because of its "intelligent" approach.... Several reviews compare it as potentially equal to Jacques Tati or Peter Sellers. That, unfortunately, might be considered as an insult in my opinion: Tati is not only comedy but art as well in its purest form. Sellers is comedy but also a benchmark. This series has nothing to do with Tati or Sellers in terms of quality, not even close. These praising comments, feel like those made about the new clothes of you know which person... I do not think this is a funny comedy at all and most certainly not intelligent. It is not funny if you like or value Fawlty Towers as intelligent comedy. It is not funny if you like or value Monty Python as intelligent comedy. It is not funny if you like or value Sanford and Son as intelligent comedy. It is not funny if you like or value Bottom as intelligent comedy. It is not funny if you like or value Black Adder as intelligent comedy It is not funny if you like or value You Rang M'Lord? as intelligent comedy It is not funny if you like or value M.A.S.H. as intelligent comedy It is not funny if you like or value Cheers as intelligent comedy, It is not funny if you like or value Taxi as intelligent comedy, It is not funny if you like or value Dad's Army as intelligent comedy. It is not funny if you like All in the Family as intelligent comedy.. It is not funny if you like Are You Being Served? It is not funny if you like It Ain't Half Hot Mum. It is not funny if you like Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It is not funny if you like Happy Days. It is not funny if you like George and Mildred. It is not funny if you like Keeping up Appearances. Enough said.

Season 1 - This is the best of the two seasons. You're introduced to the show's dry humour and wit. Similar to several period shows like Downton Abbey or Mad Men, the show uses real life incidents as a background. Near the end of a season, a conspiracy-like sub-plot will emerge but will leave several questions on your mind. Season 1 - 10/10 Season 2 - A few episodes seem rather slow but the show does something incredible - it upgrades several female characters and gives them a third dimension. Especially, Marie-Jo (played by the graceful Marie-Julie Baup) is perhaps the best Season 2 character. This season can also be called the "Season of Breakups" as every main character deals with heartbreak. The sub-plot that began in Season 1 becomes the main plot of Season 2 and this takes all the agents to Moscow, Berlin and finally, Algeria. Season 2 - 8/10 (if a few episodes were faster, I would have given this a 10 too)