Picture Credit: Reddit
Already billed as one of the most expensive series greenlit at top French broadcaster TF1, this new, alternative take on the legendary Alexandre Dumas novel The Count Of Monte-Cristo boasts star talent and an international shoot. Here is everything to know about the series before its launch this year on Netflix globally.
The local rise of comedian Audrey Fleurot has been nothing short of meteoric: after a steady career on stage and in movies, the comedian had made a name for herself in long-running crime drama Spiral (2005-2020). But she really exploded in the role of Morgane Alvaro, amateur investigator and police consultant in HPI/High Potential, which delivered record ratings for TF1 all across its five seasons. After its very successful final season last year, Fleurot set up her own projects with TF1 as star and executive producer through her company Bahia Blanca (with producer/director Djibril Glissant); The Countess Of Monte Cristo is one of its first major projects, with Chercheurs d’Or (Treasure Hunters) also currently in production for a launch in 2027, also through Netflix globally.
What’s the logline of The Countess of Monte Cristo?
Teaser poster for the show.
Marseille, 1815. Mercedes Herrera is ready to do anything in order to save the man she loves, Edmond Dantès, a sailor promised a bright future. But their bliss is tragically crushed by a merciless betrayal. Edmond, wrongly accused of a crime, is taken from Mercedes and thrown into the depths of the Château d’If, with no hope of ever being free. Devastated but determined, Mercedes launches into a race against the clock to save him, but Edmond is killed during their attempt to escape and she finds herself locked up, condemned in a cell next to the one where the love of her life was detained. In this gulf of despair, everything seems lost. Mercedes now only has one goal: revenge on those who destroyed her life: her own cousin Fernand, Danglars, an ambitious manipulator, and especially Héloïse de Villefort, the wife of the city’s prosecutor. In this free and bold adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, Mercedes Herrera is no longer a spectator of the tragedy: she is the master of her own fate. Because sometimes, the story you think you know is just a well-told lie.
Who is cast in The Countess of Monte Cristo?
Alongside Audrey Fleurot as Mercedes, an all-star cast has been assembled, featuring veterans of the silver screen and small screen for French audiences.
- Simon Ehrlacher as Bertuccio is a well-known face for viewers of TF1, having starred in the first season of hit show Cat’s Eyes and two seasons of successful soap Plus Belle La Vie;
- Zabou Breitman as Héloïse de Villefort boasts a 40-year career, first as an actress in many ’80s movies, then as a comedy veteran who also has many directing credits to her name. She was the lead in the 2021 miniseries Un Homme d’Honneur, adapted from Your Honor and also broadcast by TF1;
- Esteban Vial as Albert is a young comedian who has been seen in guest-starring roles in Munch; he also starred in and co-created web series Paye Ton Crush.
- Marysole Fertard is an alumna of TF1 daily soap Demain Nous Appartient, and has also appeared in Escort Boys, a comedy broadcast both on Prime Video and TF1.
- Thibault Bonenfant was seen in a guest-starring role in the Netflix adventure series Néro last year.
- Kad Merad as Monsieur de Villefort is a veteran French star who has enjoyed a successful career in comedic and dramatic roles, after having started as a radio and television host and author of cult skits with Olivier Barroux as part of the duo Kad & Olivier. Kad Merad was also the lead in Un Homme d’Honneur, and in the critically acclaimed Baron Noir, broadcast on Canal+.
The ensemble cast also includes Fotini Peluso, Thierry Godard, Maxime Lelue, Wael Sersoub, Denis Lavant, Éric Elmosnino as Danglars, Olivia Cote and Slimane Dazi.
Where was The Countess of Monte Cristo shot?
The shoot started in October 2025 after three to four years in development in Malta. It also included shoots in the Czech Republic. Djibril Glissant and Léonardo D’Antoni directed the eight episodes, which were written by Gaïa Guasti, Djibril Glissant, Clément Peny and Florian Spitzer.
What else do we know about the series?
In June 2026, when the first footage of the show was released to the assembled audience, TF1 executives touted the show as “the most expensive show ever produced” for the channel—it is a co-production with Netflix, with a reported €26 million budget. The show is produced both by Fleurot and Itinéraire Productions, which produced High Potential. Fleurot has already been expansive on the project over the past few months, saying to Télé Loisirs that the female-centric adaptation “gave us the opportunity to adapt parts that were never adapted in the book. And sometimes, the story is condensed between Marseille and Paris, while here we go to Rome, Turkey… It’s a little bit like Arabian Nights“. Producer Pierre Laugier teases the show as a battle between Mercedes and Héloïse, “which is good because in the original book, female parts were made invisible/minor”. Fleurot adds that the antagonist is “a career-oriented woman through her husband [prosecutor Monsieur de Villefort] with the idea that behind every great man is a woman”. The show is also reminiscent of old television adventure sagas which were cult in France, such as a previous The Count of Monte Cristo miniseries from 1979, with Jacques Weber. The crew also insists that the show was developed prior to the production of the Pierre Niney-fronted The Count of Monte Cristo movie, which became a blockbuster in 2024.
When can we expect The Countess of Monte Cristo?
The show is expected to launch on TF1 in the final quarter of 2026. As with Summer of 36, we can expect a Netflix release within the next 4 to 6 weeks.
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