There’s something captivating about a period mystery, especially with the elegant costumes of the 1920s and 1930s and a cast of characters who all have their reasons to commit murder. However, Summer ’36, a new French mystery on Netflix, could have been something special but gets bogged down by too many characters and overly complicated side stories that take away from the main plot.
Summer ’36: Worth Watching or Not?
Opening scene: A vibrant courtyard in Nice filled with revelers during a festival. “August 8, 1936.”
Synopsis: It’s summer, and this marks the first moment France’s working class enjoys paid vacations. You have them mingling with the city’s elite on the famous “Côte d’Azur.” Yet, among the crowd, four women aren’t quite as content. At a trendy Riviera hotel, a maid screams upon finding blood outside prosecutor Adrien Jacquard’s (Arnaud Binard) room. Inside, he’s discovered dead, his throat slashed.
Just twenty hours before, tourists—both affluent and working class—strolled along the waterfront. Among them is Eugénie Berthier (Sophia Essaidi), a factory worker, with her husband Jean (Simon Ehrlacher) and teenage son Louis (Jean-Baptiste Blanc). On route to the Riviera, Jacquard is struck by how much Louis resembles him. He stops to lend a hand when Louis struggles with his bicycle.
Meanwhile, Léonie Morel (Constance Gay) is visiting her father, Pierre Farge (Alan Couch), on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. He informs her that he’ll be executed in three weeks. Léonie recently started working as a police assistant and wishes to have Jacquard review her father’s case.
Then there’s businessman Henri Pontavice-Caron (Sam Kalman), who arrives at the hotel with his daughter, Blanche Ackerman (Julie de Bona). Henri, unwell, calls for Eugénie, his estranged daughter, hoping to connect with his grandson Louis, whom he has never met. She declines his request. Adding to the drama, Jacquard runs into Eugénie, his former fiancée, claiming Louis is his son. Blanche, entangled in an affair with Jacquard, contemplates leaving her husband Edouard (Clément Aubert) for him. Oh, and did I mention? Blanche and Eugénie are sisters.
Julia Vincent (Nolwen Leroy), who supervises cleaning at the hotel, has her own issues with Jacquard. She lost a hefty sum of money playing poker against him and is desperate to settle her debt. This leads to her quirky—but somewhat sad—attempts to steal from the hotel bar to pay him off. Interestingly, she is also Léonie’s half-sister but doesn’t seem invested in her father’s fate.
When I think of Summer ’36, it reminds me of other intricate mystery series I’ve watched. But that might not be a compliment.
Our take: Created by Marie Deschers and Catherine Touzet, Summer ’36 is visually stunning—the scenery and costumes are beautiful, and the sound quality is impressive as well. However, the narrative in the first episode is unusually complex and feels much more cumbersome than your average period mystery. While we do get some hints about who the main suspects are in Jacquard’s murder, the stories intertwining the four women become increasingly convoluted. By the end of the episode, it’s tough for the prosecutors—and honestly, the audience too—to keep track of all the dark twists and turns.
Compounding the issue is that Eugénie, Julia, and Blanche look quite alike and are around the same age. It took a while for me to figure out who was who and how they were connected to Jacquard. Plus, with the added layer of sibling relationships—Blanche and Eugénie being sisters, Julia and Léonie also sisters—it can make your head spin a bit.
It seems overly complicated, especially given this is a limited six-episode series. I mean, wouldn’t it be enough for these women to be in conflict with Jacquard and possibly suspecting each other, while eventually banding together to figure out who killed him? Instead, there are side plots and extra characters spiraling around, making it hard for viewers to keep track without building a mental web to tie everything together. It feels like it distracts from the main storyline, and honestly, I could see viewers losing interest before it wraps up.
Standout performances: I’d have to give a nod to Sophia Essaidi, Julie de Bona, and Nolwen Leroy, portraying Eugénie, Blanche, and Julia, respectively. It’s honestly a challenge to distinguish them!
Adult content: There’s a hint of romance between Blanche and Jacquard, but that’s pretty much it.
Final thoughts: We again get a glimpse of Jacquard’s body.
Unexpected star: François-Xavier Demaison shines as Inspector Alphonse Raven, investigating the murder case, unaware of Léonie’s involvement or her father’s fate.
Most cliché line: Blanche’s daughter Angel (Victoria Eber) mentions a suntan lotion, raising a quirky thought: wouldn’t it be great to have a can of beer too? (They were first canned in 1935, by the way.)
Our recommendation: Skip Summer ’36. Its intricate plot and many side stories make it hard to focus on the central mystery, and the limited time doesn’t allow for proper development of the main storyline.
