Coeurs Noirs TV Series Overview (2023)

Introduction

Coeurs Noirs (or Black Hearts) is a French series created by Duong Dang-Thai and Corinne Garfin, directed by Ziad Doueiri and released online on 03 February 2023 on Prime Video.

Known as Dark Hearts in the UK.

Outline

The series tells the story of a French special forces commando in Iraq (while France has also been participating in the International Coalition in Iraq and Syria since September 2014 via Operation Chammal), on the eve of the Battle of Mosul in October 2016. They must exfiltrate the daughter and grandson of a local Daesh leader and recover the French jihadists on site, in the wake of the attacks of 13 November 2015 in France.

The French special forces commando that must face Daesh and one of its subgroups that calls itself the “Black Hearts”. The latter is composed mainly of French people and leads terrorist operations in Iraq and on French soil.

It was stated on 21 January 2024 by Nicolas Duvauchelle (who plays Martin Manzard) that filming of the second season would begin in April 2024. Filming occurred around September 2024 and Prime Video and France Télévisions announced a planned release date for these new episodes in 2025.

Cast

Main:
- Nicolas Duvauchelle : Martin Manzard (leader of group 45)
- Marie Dompnier : Adèle Brockner (intelligence officer – J2)
- Nina Meurisse : Sabrina Besson (TELD – long-range sniper )
- Jérémy Nadeau : Paco (radio and drone specialist)
- Quentin Faure : Olivier Revel (deputy group leader)
- Tewfik Jallab : Rimbaud (sanitary assistant)
- Thierry Godard : Colonel Roques (commander of the intervention force )
- Victor Pontecorvo : Spit (scavenger)
- Moussa Maaskri : Zaïd Osman (Daesh intelligence officer)

Supporting:
- Nisrin Erradi : Salwa (daughter of Zaïd)
- Youssef Mzzi : Farès (Zaïd’s son-in-law)
- Mouad Morjany: Yanis (grandson of Zaïd)
- Nelson Delapalme : Hilaire (communications assistant for the intervention force )
- Sherwan Haji : Salar (member of the Iraqi forces)
- Louise Orry-Diquéro : Mélissa (J2 assistant)
- Soraya Garlenq : Nesrine (Kurdish intelligence)
- Gregory Gaule : operator 11 (base radio contact)
- Guillaume Carrier : Meadows Analyst (US Delta Force)
- Xavier Robic : Pierre-Henry Danish

Trivia

The producers researched and trained with the 3rd Squadron of the 13th RDP throughout the development process.
Recently retired French Special Forces veteran Redouane Louaazizi was brought on board as a technical advisor during writing and filming.
The series was filmed in neighbourhoods of Casablanca and around Marrakech.
When it was launched in France, the series, whose six episodes were all put online together, was at the top of the most-watched programmes on Prime Video, dethroning The Last of Us.
- It then held second place in the platform’s series audience rankings for over a month.
The series was acquired by the BBC and aired from 21 October 2023 on BBC iPlayer and BBC Four in the UK under the English title Dark Hearts.

Coeurs Noirs Series

Production & Filming Details

Director(s):
- Ziad Doueiri
Producer(s):
- Stéphanie Carron … line producer
- Gilles de Verdière … producer
Writer(s):
- Edouard Blanchot … (story consultant)
- Jean Chaffard-Luçon … (story consultant)
- Dang Thai Duong … (creator)
- Corinne Garfin … (creator)
- Thomas Rio … (dialogue)
- Sophie Maurer … (screenplay)
- Sophie Maurer … (writer)
Music:
- Eric Neveux
Cinematography:
- Tommaso Fiorilli
Editor(s):
- Eric Armbruster
- Camille Toubkis
Production:
- Mandarin Television
Distributor(s):
- Amazon Prime
Release Date: 03 February 2023 (internet).
Running Time: 60 minutes (per episode).
Rating: Unknown.
Country: France.
Language: French.