ELEPHANT AND KESHET INTERNATIONAL’S STATE OF ALERT TO PREMIERE AT SERIES MANIA 

French espionage thriller will debut on 27 March, 7 years after it was pitched at series mania's co-pro pitch 

Leading French production company Elephant International and global content producer and distributor Keshet International (KI) have confirmed their espionage thriller State of Alert (Menace Imminente) will debut at Series Mania ahead of its broadcast premiere on TF1 later this year. 

State of Alert (Menace Imminente) stars French recording artist, actor and singer Patrick Bruel (Villa Caprice, Holy Lands) as a legendary Israeli intelligence officer who has 72 hours to solve interconnected high-stakes investigations involving stolen software and a mysterious disappearance alongside a French anti-terrorism cop played by Natacha Lindinger (Sam, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky). The international cast also stars Gaïa Weiss (Mary Queen of Scots, Vikings, Alien: Containment), Cyril Guei (Hitman, How I Became a Superhero) and Tsahi Halevi (Line in the Sand, Fauda).   

This 6x60’ spy thriller is based on Dov Alfon’s bestselling novel A Long Night in Paris (Unité 8200), which was optioned by KI’s Head of Global Drama, Atar Dekel, who developed and pitched the project initially at Series Mania’s Co-Pro Pitch Forum in 2018 before Elephant International came on board as co-producers. 

Sandra Ouaiss, Managing Director and Founder of Elephant International, who co-produced State of Alert, comments, “This is the first series in which French star Patrick Bruel plays, alongside Natacha Lindinger. We are very excited to have this great duo of actors giving life to the colourful characters created by Dov Alfon in his bestseller A Long Night in Paris or Unité 8200 in France.” 

Rodolphe Buet, CEO of Newen Connect added, “State of Alert is a powerful ticking clock spy thriller. With a talented production team behind it, an A list show runner and a wonderful cast, it is exactly the third-party title STUDIO TF1 is proud to have in its catalogue. We are looking forward to showcasing this to buyers at Series Mania.” 

KI’s Atar Dekel, who co-produced State of Alert, says, “State of Alert is a shining example of what we strive to achieve when seeking global collaborations: putting Israeli IP and talent like creator Leora Kamenetzky, director Dan Sachar, and actor Tsahi Halevi at the forefront of international storytelling and exposing them to global audiences with the help of seasoned local producers like Sandra and Elephant, and supportive and collaborative buyers like TF1.” 

Co-produced by Elephant International and Keshet International for TF1, State of Alert (Menace Imminente) is co-created by Leora Kamenetzky (False Flag (Kfulim), Fauda), David Dusa (Flowers of Evil, Amin) and Negar Djavadi (Jacqueline Sauvage, Mon Ange), who also is the series’ main writer. Directed by Dan Sachar (Line in the Sand) the 6x60’ series is produced by Elephant’s Sandra Ouaiss, and is executive produced by Keshet Media Group’s Avi Nir and Karni Ziv, alongside KI’s Keren Shahar and Atar Dekel.  

State of Alert (Menace Imminente) will receive its world premiere screening at Series Mania at a red-carpet Q&A screening attended by cast and crew, including Patrick Bruel, on Thursday 27 March at 8.45pm at l’UGC de Lille. Available via the Series Mania website, tickets have already sold out. Menace Imminente is slated to premiere on TF1 later this year. Newen Connect is distributing the series internationally.