What to watch online – French

languagenotebook:

These are my favorite programs to watch online in French (plus a couple of extras). I chose them because they’re relatively easy to follow at an intermediate level, and they aren’t difficult to find or geo-blocked.

A general tip: if you’re looking for TV programs in French, you can find a lot by going to YouTube and typing in words like “saison” and “emission.” You’ll find a lot of full-length programs that way, listed by their season and episode number.

1. C’est Mon Choix [available on YouTube; link provided]

This is a fun talk show program similar to Ricki Lake or Sally Jesse Rafael in the U.S. (if you’re old enough to remember those). Full-length, new episodes are uploaded all the time, the quality is decent, and you don’t have to worry about them being taken offline for copyright issues because this is the official YouTube channel for the program. The program itself is kind of stupid and usually deals with topics related to dating, sexuality, personality quirks, or makeovers. There are titles like “I have a big mouth” or “I make more money than my husband” or “I won’t let my wife wear sexy clothes.” This program is best for learning slang and casual speech. People argue from time to time, but the mood is usually silly and light-hearted.

2. Envoyé Spécial [search for the program title on YouTube]

This is a TV documentary series with a huge range of topics to choose from, from the serious (ISIS, education in Shanghai) to the light (the singer Mika, famous YouTubers). These are made for television, so the quality isn’t particularly high, but I think that makes it easier to understand, and the quick production time means more variety in topics. When searching on YouTube, some episodes are listed with the topic, but many are only listed with the air date, so you’ll have to watch those for a bit to figure out what the topic is.

3 Tellement Vrai [search for the program title on YouTube]

This is the trashy cousin of Envoyé Spécial. It deals with less serious topics, usually relating to sex, relationships and personal appearance. There are episodes about jealous boyfriends, plastic surgery, sexual fantasies, prostitution, teens moms, and even one about Wicca. They’re meant to be kind of shocking, so that can be a motivation to watch, even if the quality of the program isn’t particularly high.

4. Projet Fashion [available on YouTube; link provided]

Projet Fashion is the French version of Project Runway. It has a smaller budget than the American version and doesn’t seem to have made it past its first season, but it’s fun to watch. You’re introduced to some creative and talented French people, including not just the designers but also the guest judges. The program is easy to follow, especially if you’ve seen Project Runway before, and the YouTube channel is an official one, so you don’t have to worry about episodes being taken down for copyright violations. I definitely recommend this one!

5. Le Petit Journal [on CanalPlus; links provided)

Someone else made a great post on here about Le Petit Journal, and that’s how I found out about it. It’s a news program similar to The Daily Show in the U.S. with a host that makes jokes about current events. They also have field reporters, though they’re more serious than the ones on The Daily Show. Each episode also has a musical performance, which is almost always very good and includes a lot of up-and-coming talent. The bands aren’t always French, but when they are you get the bonus of finding new music to listen to in French! Finally, each episode also includes a guest interview, and they consistently manage to pull some very famous and talented people, including Roman Polanski and Grace Jones (who was amazing!!!). In between segments, there’s a bit of sketch comedy. Unfortunately, it’s usually either not very funny or too difficult for me to understand (humor is always one of the last skills to develop in a language, right?). I love Le Petit Journal: it’s free, high-quality, available with a new episode almost every single day, and can be streamed to my TV on Chromecast using the CanalPlus app on my phone. Sometimes it can be difficult to follow, especially if you don’t follow French politics regularly, but the bonus is that you get to learn about that some through the program, and that could be tremendously helpful if you want to talk to native speakers.

6. Le Grand Journal [on CanalPlus; links provided)

This is the more serious cousin of Le Petit Journal. To be honest, I’ve never watched a full episode, but it seems interesting. It includes a panel of people talking about current events. I thought I’d include it because it seems like a good program and isn’t geo-blocked by CanalPlus.

7. Filmfra.com [link provided]

This is a website full of French films with French subtitles. I’m pretty sure it’s a copyright violation to have these available online like this, so who knows how long it will be around, but it’s lasted for at least a couple of years now. My goal is to move away from using subtitles, but I watched a couple of French films on here when I was still a relative beginner, and it was tremendously helpful. I would pause the movie after almost every line and look up the words I didn’t know, which took a long time but improved my vocabulary a lot. It’s something that could still definitely benefit me, so I’m going to try to watch more things here. Not all of the movies are French (some are dubbed American movies), but there’s still a very good selection of original French content. The best part is there are no tricks or weird pop-ups you have to deal with when you want to watch these movies: you just click a button and watch. You can also follow FilmFra on YouTube to get alerts when a new movie is posted.

8. Mon incroyable fiancé [search on YouTube]

This is a reality show that’s had more than one season already, and you can find most of the episodes on YouTube. To be honest, I couldn’t make it past the first couple of episodes, but if you like shows like ‘The Bachelor,’ this might be something you enjoy. It’s about a woman who is pretending to be engaged to a person she’s never met, played by an actor who pretends to be a huge buffoon in every episode. The woman has to lie to her friends and family and convince them to support her decision to marry this person and come to the wedding. If she succeeds, everyone wins money.

9. Moundir et les apprentis aventuriers [search on YouTube]

Another reality TV show that I can’t bring myself to actually watch! This one is a Survivor rip-off. If you like seeing attractive people in swimsuits compete to win money, or if you’re a fan of the American show, you might find this interesting. Not my cup of tea, but I wanted to include it anyway!