Throughout September, the international French-language network TV5MONDE offers a rich lineup of entertaining films, series, specials, and variety programming.

Discover our roundup of the must-see programs this month below.

TV5 Monde

Special

Franc-jeu — Sundays, continuing September 6 at 2:30pm ET/11:30am PT (first episode airs August 30)

In the run-up to the French presidential campaign, “Franc-jeu” welcomes the main political leaders and gives a central place to the major debates that mark public life. Benjamin Duhamel questions those who participate in the choices offered to the French for the future of the country: a direct, demanding and accessible dialogue, without pretence or concessions. 
Director: N/A (France, 2026) 
Hosts: Benjamin Duhamel 
Genre: News 

Films

Plus qu’hier, moins que demain — September 1 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT 
Also streaming on TV5MONDE+
Part of TV5MONDE’s Les années bascule (Turning Point Years) series
(English ST)

On this summer morning, no one is expecting Sonia, who reappears in the village, among her own people, after a long absence, with her baby and her husband. Determined to wipe the slate clean, the young woman brings painful memories back to the surface. Sorrows, confessions, the violence of feelings, an overlooked gem of French cinema. 

Director: Laurent Achard (France, 1998) 
Cast: Mireille Roussel, Laetitia Legrix, Martin Mihelich, Lily Boulogne, Daniel Isoppo, Vincent Martin, Pascal Cervo 
Genre: Dramedy 
Awards: Grand jury prize and Gérard-Frot-Coutaz prize at the Entrevues Belfort Festival (France, 1998); Tiger Awards at the Rotterdam Film Festival (Netherlands, 1999); selected at ACID Cannes (France, 1998) 

Le lycéen — September 6 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT
Part of TV5MONDE’s Les années bascule (Turning Point Years) series 
(English ST) 

Following the sudden death of his father, 17-year-old Lucas is going to spend a week in Paris with his brother, Quentin. The young man will have to confront his demons to rediscover his zest for life. A teenage experience of grief that mirrors the director’s own story. 

Director: Christophe Honoré (France, 2022) 
Cast: Paul Kircher, Vincent Lacoste, Juliette Binoche, Erwan Kepoa Falé 
Genre: Drama 
Awards: Best Performance Award – “Visages de la Francophonie” (Paul Kircher) at Cinemania (Canada, 2022); Silver Concha for Best Actor (Paul Kircher) at the San Sebastián International Film Festival (SSIFF) (Spain, 2022); nomination for Best New Male Actor (Paul Kircher) at the César Awards (France, 2023); Selected for the Vienna Francophone Film Festival (Austria, 2023) and Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in New York (United States, 2023) 

Merlusse — September 8 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT
Also streaming on TV5MONDE+ 
Part of TV5MONDE’s Les années bascule (Turning Point Years) series 
(English ST) 

Blanchard, a strict teacher with a deformed face, is nicknamed “Merlusse” and mocked by the pupils. In his secondary school, on Christmas Eve, he alone takes care of the few boarders who have no one. Little by little, the children come to understand that he is not a monster and learn to see beyond his appearance.his zest for life. A teenage experience of grief that mirrors the director’s own story. 

Director: Marcel Pagnol (France, 1935)
Cast: Henri Poupon, André Pollack, Annie Toinon, Jean Castan
Genre: Comedy 

Un autre père— September 11 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT 
(English ST)

Thibaut, 40, is raising his adopted son Gabriel, who is of Senegalese origin, on his own. Faced with a young boy searching for his identity, he decides to reconnect with his past and returns to Gorée Island in search of Gabriel’s biological mother, whom he once knew. 

Director: Pierre Linhart (France, 2025)
Cast: Jean Le Peltier, Tyron Bayineni, Ladi Emeruwa, Adama Ndoye, Aminata Sarr, Hélène Theunissen
Genre: Drama, TV-Movie
Awards: Best TV Movie and Best Actor Award for Jean Le Peltier at the La Rochelle Fiction Festival (France, 2025) 

Le théorème de Marguerite— September 13 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT 
Part of TV5MONDE’s Les années bascule (Turning Point Years) series
(English ST) 

Marguerite, a brilliant maths student at the prestigious École normale supérieure university, is presenting her thesis. But another PhD student interrupts her and refutes her argument. Against everyone’s advice, Marguerite gives up her studies. Left to her own devices, with no money, she discovers a passion and a talent for the game of Mahjong. 

Director: Anna Novion (France, Switzerland 2023) 
Cast: Ella Rumpf, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Clotilde Courau, Julien Frison 
Genre: Dramedy 
Awards: Best New Actress (Ella Rumpf) at the César Awards (France, 2024); Young Film Technician Award (Anne-Sophie Delseries) at the Cannes Film Festival (France, 2023); Audience Grand Prix at the Cabourg Film Festival (France, 2023); selected for Cannes (Best New Actor) (France, 2024) and the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival (France, 2023) 

Ugolin— September 15 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT 
Also streaming on TV5MONDE+
Part of TV5MONDE’s Les années bascule (Turning Point Years) series 
(English ST) 

In the hills of Provence, Manon lives alone. She harbours resentment toward those who caused her family’s downfall: the Papet and Ugolin. When she discovers the spring that supplies the village with water and feeds Ugolin’s carnation fields, she blocks it. And begins her revenge. 

Director: Marcel Pagnol (France, 1952) 
Cast: Jacqueline Pagnol, Rellys, Raymond Pellegrin, Fernand Sardou 
Genre: Dramedy 

Sentinelle sud— September 20 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT 
Also streaming on TV5MONDE+
Part of TV5MONDE’s Les années bascule (Turning Point Years) series 
(English ST) 

Back from a mission in Afghanistan that decimated his unit, the soldier Christian Lafayette is trying to get his life back to normal. He soon becomes embroiled in an opium smuggling operation to save two surviving brothers-in-arms. 

Director: Mathieu Gérault (France, 2021) 
Cast: Niels Schneider, Sofian Khammes, India Hair 
Genre: Drama 
Awards: Selected at Cinemania (Canada, 2022), Varilux Festival of French Cinema (Brazil, 2022), Rendez-vous d’Unifrance in Paris (France, 2022) 

Colombine— September 22 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT 
Also streaming on TV5MONDE+
Part of TV5MONDE’s Les années bascule (Turning Point Years) series 
(English ST) 

Colombine, 13 years old, is in conflict with her mother. On the run, she travels through time in search of her absent father. She is parachuted one year earlier to the Fête des Vignerons. Alone in the world of adults, Colombine tries to find traces of her father. 

Director: Dominique Othenin-Girard (Switzerland, 2022) 
Cast: Adrien Barazzone, Jean-Luc Barbezat, Jean Aloïs Belbachir 
Genre: Dramedy 
Awards: Selected at the Zurich Film Festival (Switzerland, 2022) 

Petites mains— September 27 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT 
Also streaming on TV5MONDE+
(English ST) 

Eva, twenty-something, lands a job as a chambermaid in a prestigious Parisian hotel. Her colleagues are a close-knit team of strong characters. She also discovers the reality of this world where the client is king. When a social movement begins to take root, each employee has a choice to make. 

Director: Nessim Chikhaoui (France, 2023) 
Cast: Corinne Masiero, Lucie Charles-Alfred, Marie-Sohna Condé, Salimata Kamate 
Genre: Dramedy 

C’est ça l’amour— September 29 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT 
In celebration of the Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur (FIFF) 
(English ST) 

Since his wife left, Mario has been raising his two daughters on his own. Frida, 14, blames him for her mother’s departure. Niki, 17, dreams of independence. Mario, meanwhile, is still waiting for his wife’s return… 

Director: Claire Burger (France, Belgium, 2017) 
Cast: Bouli Lanners, Justine Lacroix, Sarah Henochsberg 
Genre: Dramedy 
Awards: Magritte Award for Best Actor (Bouli Lanners) (Belgium, 2020) ; Best Director Award of the Giornate degli autori at the Venice Film Festival (Italy, 2018) ; Swann d’or for Best Director, Swann d’or for Best Actor (Bouli Lanners) at the Cabourg Film Festival (France, 2019), International du Film Francophone de Namur (FIFF) Cinevox Jury Mention (Belgium, 2019) 

Series

Pandore— Sundays, beginning September 6 at 11:30pm ET/8:30pm PT 
Season 1 premiere 
Also streaming on TV5MONDE+
(English ST) 

A corruption scandal erupts in the middle of an election campaign in Brussels. On learning that her father was involved, Claire Delval, the examining magistrate, withdrew from the investigation. She was then confronted with a case of rape of an activist, also linked to the world of politics. 

Ep. 1: While Claire, an examining magistrate, is celebrating her father Simon Delval’s birthday, she discovers that he is involved in the corruption case she has been investigating for years. Mark Van Dyck, a discreet and competent politician, is hoping to fill the vacancy left by Simon… 

Director: Savina Dellicour, Vania Leturcq (Belgium, 2022) 
Cast: Anne Coesens, Myriem Akheddiou, Peter Van Den Begin, Salomé Richard Genre: Drama, crime 
Awards: Best 2022-minute series at the Luchon Festival (France, 2022) 

Avant le crash— Fridays, beginning September 11 at 11:30pm ET/8:30pm PT 
Season 1 premiere 
Also streaming on TV5MONDE+ 
(French ST) 

Marc-André is a drop-out, living on the margins of society. All his friends work in finance at Stratégie Investissement Québec. For his birthday, they offer him an opportunity to return to the business world, but at the bottom of the ladder, a chance to start over again. 

Ep. 1: On Marc-André’s birthday, his friend François offers him a job as an assistant in his company. All those around them work for for the same business: Stratégie Investissement Québec. 

Director: Stéphane Lapointe (Quebec, 2022) 
Cast: Éric Bruneau, Émile Proulx-Cloutier, Karine Vanasse, Mani Soleymanlou, Benoit Drouin-Germain 
Genre: Drama 

Si je veux—September 22 at 11:30pm ET/8:30pm PT 
Season premiere 
Also streaming on TV5MONDE+
(English ST) 

The intertwined stories of Bertille, Amélie and Flora, a mother and her two daughters. Although each of them has a very different view of motherhood, their bonds will grow stronger through the trials they go through, eventually leading them back to their native land: French Guiana. 

Ep. 1: Amélie, mother of two children, wants to carry a child for another couple as part of a surrogacy arrangement. She travels to London to begin the process. 

Director: Bénédicte Pagnot (France, 2024) 
Cast: Chloé Lecerf, Océane Caïraty, Gigi Ledron 
Genre: Dramedy, 3-part miniseries  

Documentaries

Cousu—Mondays, beginning September 21 at 6:30pm ET/3:30pm PT 
In celebration of Fashion Week 
Also streaming on TV5MONDE+
(English ST) 

Dress is not only a personal expression, but also a cultural expression. From Argentina to Belgium and Morocco, actress and presenter Karine Vanasse discovers the world through the world of fashion. 

Ep. 1: Argentina has every reason to be proud of its wool, leather and many other textiles. Karine Vanasse arrives in Buenos Aires to meet designers who have a sense of style but also a concern for adapting their creations to the country’s hot climate.  

Director: Julien Cadieux, Joël A. Robichaud (Quebec, 2025) 
Host: Karine Vanasse 
Genre: Documentary series, fashion 

TV5Monde+

Films

Fanon— Streaming beginning September 2 
(English ST) 

A biopic on the life of Frantz Fanon, a French psychiatrist from Martinique who is appointed head of the psychiatric hospital in Blida, Algeria. 

Director: Jean-Claude Flamand-Barny (France, 2024) 
Cast: Alexandre Bouyer, Déborah François, Stanislas Merhar 

Series

Castes : Les amours interdites— Streaming beginning September 2 
Season premiere  
(English ST) 

A Ivorian drama following the powerful Koulibaly patriarch and his family as they face intense internal conflicts. 

Director: Franck Vlehi (Côte d’Ivoire, 2026) 
Cast: Issaka Sawadogo, Olivier Serge Grah, Maud Guerard 
Genre: Drama 

Fauchées— Streaming beginning September 21  
TV5MONDE original series world premiere 
(English ST) 

Two broke cousins sell their deceased grandmother’s items to pay off their debts. A tender and crazy comedy where each item sold tells a story. One episode = an item for sale = a strange buyer. 

Director: Leïla Macaire (France, 2026) 
Cast: Sophie de Guérines, Marion Haïlé 
Genre: Web series, mini series, comedy 

Documentaries

De Terry Fox à aujourd’hui—Now streaming
(English ST) 

An immersion in the lives of those most affected and the reality of the fight against sarcoma, a silent and little-known cancer affecting some 1,200 people in Canada each year. Sophie Mottard made it a personal battle. 

Ep. 1: 28 June 1981. 22-year-old Terry Fox died as the result of an aggressive sarcoma. A few weeks earlier, following the amputation of a leg, the athlete took on the Marathon of Hope, to raise funds for the fight against sarcoma. His journey across Canada abruptly ended near Thunder Bay. 

Director: Jean-François Fontaine (Quebec, 2022) 
Genre: Documentary, 3-part series, cancer research awareness 

TV5Monde+ Cinéma

Theme: Female-Led Films & Jean Gabin Classics

Monsieur— available beginning September 4 
(English ST) 

A wealthy widower decides to start a new life after realizing his wife had been cheating on him.  

Director: Jean-Paul Le Chanois (1964) 
Cast: Jean Gabin, Mireille Darc, Liselotte Pulver 
Genre: Comedy 

Le drapeau noir flotte sur la marmite— available beginning September 4 
(English ST) 

A tyrannical old man constantly tells stories about his days as a sailor, though none of his family members believe him. 

Director: Michel Audiard (1971) 
Cast: Jean Gabin, Ginette Leclerc, Micheline Luccioni 
Genre: Comedy 

Tonnerre de dieu— available beginning September 4 
(English ST) 

A drunken veterinarian decides to shelter a young woman.  

Director: Denys De La Patellière (1965) 
Cast: Jean Gabin, Michèle Mercier, Robert Hossein 
Genre: Dramedy 

Louise— available beginning September 11 
(English ST) 

After fleeing a troubled childhood, a woman decides to reconnect with her sister 15 years later. 

Director: Nicolas Keitel (2025) 
Cast: Diane Rouxel, Cécile De France, Salomé Dewaels  
Genre: Drama 

L’adieu à la nuit— available beginning September 11 

A grandmother is delighted her grandson is coming to visit before moving to Canada. However, after noticing his strange behavior, she discovers he’s been lying.  

Director: André Téchiné (2018) 
Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Kacey Mottet, Oulaya Amamra 
Genre: Drama 

La Bataille de Solferino— available beginning September 18 

A news reporter hires a caretaker to watch her daughters while she covers the presidential elections, with one strict instruction: keep the girls away from their father.  

Director: Justine Triet (2013) 
Cast: Laetitia Dosch, Vincent Macaigne, Arthur Harari  
Genre: Dramedy 

La pire mère au monde— available beginning September 18 
(English ST) 

After 15 years without speaking to each other, a brilliant deputy prosecutor becomes her mother’s boss. 

Director: Pierre Mazingarbe (2025) 
Cast: Louise Bourgoin, Muriel Robin, Florence Loiret Caille 
Genre: Comedy 

Les coquillettes— available beginning September 18 

Three close female friends travel to the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. 

Director: Sophie Letourneur (2012) 
Cast: Camille Genaud, Carole Le Page, Sophie Letourneur 
Genre: Dramedy 

L’aventura— available beginning September 25 
(English ST) 

A family goes on a summer road trip through Sardinia, and chaos ensues.  

Director: Sophie Letourneur (2025) 
Cast: Sophie Letourneur, Philippe Katerine, Bérénice Vernet 
Genre: Dramedy 

Voyages en Italie— available beginning September 25 
(English ST) 

A couple looking to rekindle their relationship take a child-free vacation to Sicily.   

Director: Sophie Letourneur (2022) 
Cast: Sophie Letourneur, Philippe Katerine 
Genre: Comedy 

Please note: Programs may change due to last-minute scheduling