Dumber For Having Watched.

It’s no secret that I’m certainly not a fan of French television programming. (with the exception of Star Academy which is becoming my guilty fascination if not guilty pleasure.) But there is nothing that describes what I hate about French TV more than C'est au Programme on France 2.

Specifically, the host Sophie Davant makes me want to throw a brick through my flat screen. This woman, who apparently is a former weather girl, is not only unskilled as a TV host, but is abnormally inappropriate and often belittling to her guests. It is also not uncommon for her to have a giggle-fit mid segment that last 2-3 minutes.

One specific segment comes to mind where she actually sat across the table grinning dumbly and giggling through a segment on Female Genital Mutilation, while the author of a book painfully tried to recount her childhood experience on the subject. It was beyond cringe worthy.

I could give other examples of horrific shows I’ve forced myself to watch in the name of learning about French pop-culture, but that would be pointless. My question is—Are there any French produced shows on that are in fact worth watching? I’m not much of a TV watcher in general (I’m more of a DVD collector/hoarder) but it would be nice for once to sit down and watch a French sitcom or drama if only as a way to learn new slang and vocabulary!

I’m not looking for a program with productions values in line with Lost or Prison Break, but is there anything on French TV that doesn’t assume viewers are either idiots are children? And if not, what does that say about France? Hmmmm.