Oct 10, 2024

How French TikTok Hit “Broos” Is Going to Become a Short TV Series

Backed by French and German broadcaster Arte, French Tiktok and Instagram sensation The Broos (Les Gros in French) pitched a feature-length version of the project at Cartoon Forum last month. [Developed as a 12 x 4.5 minute series, the project will be adapted, scripted, and directed by Broos creator David Mirailles and Youssef El Kouch, scenario director for Bobby Prod.

Adapted from the comic of the same name, The Broos was a hit on Tiktok with approximately 600,000 followers. With its broad black-and-white style and witty dialogue, the series follows the everyday adventures of two ordinary French men, Adam and Seb. From couch hangouts to road trips to parties, the series follows the development of their friendship and depicts a type of bromance rarely depicted in French fiction.

On Tiktok, however, another Arte-funded series, “Samuel,” garnered over 7 million views earlier this year (out of 25 million views across all platforms), and this type of content is definitely trending, with the creators of Broos project themselves into the further development of the heartfelt story.

Prior to the pitch at last month's Cartoon Forum, Cartoon Brew told Gabrielle Danlimon, development manager for Miraile and Bobby Prod, that while keeping the elements that made the show a success on social media, they are going to bring this social media sensation to a larger audience.

Cartoon Brew: How did you go about animating “Broos”? I always wanted to try a longer format, so it came very naturally. When I wrote the capsules, I tended to make them longer each time: a minute, a minute and a half, two minutes. I definitely wanted to expand the story and explore the characters more deeply. Early in the project, the episodes were supposed to be 11 minutes long, but then we settled on a four-and-a-half minute format that allowed the story to unfold without losing the rhythm and touch of Yusef and me.

.son original - Les Groos

What is the place of fiction on platforms like Tiktok today? I think there is a lot of empty space: when we started Capsule in 2021, there was very little fiction shared on Tiktok. In France, “Samuel” was a big hit, and fiction animation is clearly a good fit for the platform. Content also tends to be longer. From my point of view, short gag videos are much less common, and users have come to expect higher quality content from creators. We want to provide that and extend it to an even larger audience. That's why I plan to continue this project with a dual narrative, a series of 12 one-minute videos that will be released exclusively on social media to develop a cross-media approach.

How does the Broos project fit in with Bobby Prod's editorial policy? It's very different from what we've done in the past; Broos is a much gentler type of content than what we normally produce, but if you look closely, it has what you would find in any of Bobby Prod's series. That is, a short format, humor, a tone that is also quite cutting-edge, and artistic direction that is heartfelt and sincere. And those are the values we look for in Bobby. Innovative projects, new voices of young artists, and in keeping with our house style.

What kind of broadcasters or partners are you looking for to achieve this? As of today, we have completed our development phase and have already signed a contract with Arte as producer and main broadcaster. We are therefore looking for the right partners so that we can start production, hopefully in January 2025. Our main goal at the moment is to attract international broadcasters and other channels to pre-purchase the film, or to attract international sales agents/distributors who will add their skills to this project. While this project is aimed primarily at French-speaking audiences, Bruce's universal story and inspiring characters have the power to transcend that. With proper dubbing, the series has international potential and will reach a worldwide audience of young adults who identify with this contemporary bromance.

Tell us more about this particular “bromance” going on between the main characters: for me, it was very important to portray the relationship between these two mal characters. The idea for Bruce came to me when I saw these two young men on a school trip together. On the surface, there was an air of toxic masculinity about them, but their relationship took a turn when no one was looking. In fact, they were very supportive and caring. I have known my male friends since kindergarten and we get along very well, but rarely do we express such affection for each other. I think it is really important today that this becomes the new normal and that everyone can benefit from healthy male friendships. I hope to share this feeling with you in our series.