Television: Samuel Le Bihan returns as Alex Hugo this Tuesday evening on France 3

To kick off the eleventh season of Alex Hugo, Samuel Le Bihan returns this Tuesday, May 20, to France 3 with a brand new episode: "The Forest of Assassins." A series that has been airing for over 10 years now and whose success continues unabated.

On November 12, the broadcast of the final episode of season 10 brought together 5.23 million viewers and allowed the investigator to reach the top of the channel.

A success for which no one knows the recipe, not even Samuel Le Bihan, who has played the former Marseille cop since 2014. A role to which he is very attached.

"Nobody can explain this success; it's rather a matter of luck that the public has embraced this series. In any case, this success has given us a responsibility: not to disappoint viewers."

The police officer is back with his 31st investigation, which centers on the sudden death of a young employee, Élodie, at a local sawmill. The death was deemed accidental, but the investigator quickly realizes it was murder.

A season different from the others

The opportunity to witness the appearance of a woman, a relationship from Alex Hugo's past, lifts the veil on a previously unknown aspect of the character. This leaves the possibility of the investigator's love life evolving in this new season, a major first for the series.

The episodes following Tuesday night's will also feature plenty of new content. This includes an episode entirely directed by Samuel Le Bihan, which will be filmed next September. This is finally a full circle for the actor who has been leading the series for eleven years now, with this move to the other side of the camera.

A job that is close to his heart, especially in the preparation. "Directing isn't just about directing the actors. First, there was the writing of the episode, it's a story that I proposed, that France Télévision liked and that we're moving forward with. Now it's all about preparing the film, choosing the sets, the actors, working with the director of photography who will provide the lighting... It's a whole job to establish the universe that I want to tell ."

Although the series focuses on humans in the midst of nature, the actor aims to show a new side of the mountain, to reveal new landscapes by switching to the other side of the camera. "There was a whole period when hydraulic power was used to power factories. There are valleys that are still marked by an industrial past, which I want to tell. It won't be the usual mountain, it will be different."

Beyond the landscapes, it is the whole atmosphere of the episode which will be new and specific to the direction of Samuel Le Bihan "I will go for a much more thriller atmosphere, perhaps a little darker. I will try to surprise people, create strong emotions."

A risk worth taking for the new director, who is not afraid to surprise his audience. "I don't want to disappoint the viewer. They can be surprised, obviously, there's always the risk that they won't like it. But with each episode, we take that risk. But we also have to dare to offer different things. It's a series that needs to renew itself. And to renew itself, you have to take the risk of displeasing."

While innovation is key for these future episodes, Samuel makes no secret of the return of a key character from the series in the one he will direct: police officer Angelo Batalla. Played by Lionnel Astier, he left the series in 2023 during a poignant episode of this 9th season. Angelo will make an exceptional return, and only for this episode, which gives the director the opportunity to explore new things. "I play with the past and emblematic figures that the series created and to whom the audience is attached and will be happy to meet again."

Great prospects for the Alex Hugo series, which never fails to renew itself to attract its audience.

Alex Hugo: The Forest of Assassins. This Tuesday, May 20 at 9:05 p.m. on France 3.