Dark Hearts: a French espionage drama features military daring and hi-tech thrills

If you enjoyed Le Bureau des Légendes – the espionage drama which ran for five seasons from 2015, became an under-the-radar classic, and was remade last year into The Agency starring Michael Fassbender – then a similar recent series should also delight with its tales of military daring and hi-tech thrills.

Both dramas feature the work of the DGSE (Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure), France’s counter-espionage and anti-terrorism unit, with Dark Hearts featuring those at the grisly end of undercover work.

A close-knit team of special forces commandos (nicknamed ‘Dark Hearts’) is in Iraq in 2016 during the coalition assault, and is charged with a high-risk extraction of the daughter and grandson of a local ISIS leader and also find French jihadists. 

In order to bring authenticity to the narrative and action, the production team researched and trained with France’s 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment. The result is is a gripping, taut drama that reveals the personal challenges faced by those on the frontline.

Some readers will recognise Thierry Godard in a leading role as Colonel Roques – he memorably played corrupt cop Gilou in perhaps the best French series of all time, Engrenages (released for Anglophone audiences as Spiral). 

Available on BBC iPlayer and Prime Video.

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