How Capitani Was Purchased By Netflix?

Capitani Updates: It is not every day that one gets to see their life’s work be picked up by an international giant. 18 January was an amazing day in the career of Captain’s director Christophe Wagner.

The episodes which he had directed for the show Unité 42 were being broadcasted in France on the television network,  France 2. 

On the very same afternoon, it was revealed on social media that the Luxembourg series which he had both co-written with Thierry Faber and Eric Lamhène and directed, had been picked up by Netflix. This is a career-high very few people get to experience. 

The show which had been shot in Luxembourgish is one of its kind. The idea of having shows in Luxembourgish is a new thing there. People are not used to it yet. By creating a show which was spoken by a small group of people, the creators were taking a gamble. This play for theirs worked out in their favor. 

In an interview, Christophe Wagner said, “We can say that it was really my day… How not to be proud to see ‘Capitani’ on such a platform! When you see where we started from, with the creation of this first dramatic series shot in Luxembourg in Luxembourgish”.

Capitani on Netflix

The show was originally broadcasted by Radio Television Luxembourg Group. They are a media company based out of Luxembourg. They picked up the show almost a year ago when the audience size was merely 1.5 million. Before RTL, the show was produced by the Samsa Film Group in collaboration with Film Fund Luxembourg. With the show being available on Netflix worldwide, the audience size of the show will grow tremendously. 

Not only the director but the entire team of Capitani is overwhelmed by its success in an interview, Claude Waringo of Samsa Film said, “We were wondering how to attract the Luxembourg public and how to keep them on our side until the end of the last episode.

In the cinema, we had already done that with the success of ‘Superjhemp Retörns’ (Super Jëmp Returns). But television is different. So, when we saw the first audience figures, we were stunned. The mission was accomplished.”

The show revolves around the life of Luc Capitani who is a police detective. When the body of a teenage girl is found in the forest near  Manscheid, he is assigned to the case. He enlists the help of local police personnel, Elsa Ley, to help solve the case. 

Although Netflix has not said much about the show’s purchase and the amount for which it was bought, audiences can enjoy the show on the platform from February 11.