Why did we love Cult, the series that traces the creation of Loft Story?

2001, for those who remember, is the golden age of flip phones, world champion France and the Spice Girls, where French is still spoken. It was also the year in which the first French reality show, Loft Story, was broadcast on M6, causing a scandal. With its characters immediately becoming stars, such as the winner Loana or Laure and Steevy, the Loft revolutionized the French small screen and paved the way for a completely new genre of programs: reality TV.

An excellent cast

In 1999 in the Netherlands, a show called Big Brother, in which several people from civil society, unpaid, are locked in a house and filmed almost continuously, offered to broadcast their lives on live television daily. This completely innovative way of creating a television show immediately attracted producers from all over the world.

It is with this entrance that it begins Worshipwhich in six episodes tells in detail how a small production company managed to sell the French adaptation to M6, and then guarantee the selection of candidates and the airing of daily programs. Rather than focus on what audiences already know about the Loft, the coup de force Worship it’s taking us behind the cameras, into the intimacy of the backstage, where the producers play big.

There are three of them, the first is played by Anaïde Rozam, the comedian continues her career in cinema by playing Isabelle, the alter ego of Alexia Laroche-Joubert, the original producer (and co-producer of the series), a young woman of bourgeois origins whose father disapproves of his interest in “trash TV”. The second is that of Karim, played by Sami Outalbali (Sex Education), who plays a young suburban producer, dealing with a dependent family.

Finally, the last one is played by César Domboy (Outlander), who plays Raphaël, one of the production company’s partners, a country loner who wants to test himself in the television sector. “What attracted me to the character of Raphaël is that it is a modern role, much more contemporary than those I have defended recently, such as Outlander, a period series. I couldn’t wait to compare myself to an era I knew. I was able to ask questions to the people in my family, around me, about Paris back then, and question the memories I had” explains César Domboy.

With this excellent cast and character diversity, the series develops engaging personalities, plagued by real doubts and existential crises, which is clearly the strength of its writing. The character of Loana, played by Marie Colomb, also does justice to the real Loana Petrucciani, victim of a disconcerting sexist campaign during and after the Loft, for the role of mindless fool that society had assigned to her.

A series to tell the story of an era

Ultra-fast-paced, the series takes us behind the frenetic scenes of production, which encounters many obstacles from creation to broadcast. Disagreements with the channel, casting problems, difficulty in finding the concept, swimming pool scandal, jealousy of the contestants, questioning of the CSA, nothing is spared!

And it is thanks to the creators’ finely crafted writing that Culte captures you from the first seconds, and immediately makes you want to binge everything.”There is a very high quality of writing and an exceptional joint work between authors, actors and director” confirms César Domboy.

Because more than a show, Culte also tells the story of an era, that of the beginnings of reality TV, in a French society that was just discovering the concept.

Behind the broadcast of The Loft, the whole of France is torn apart, between young people who are immediately fascinated by it and an older part who considers the program stupid. A gap that still remains well-rooted, even if reality TV is now part of everyday global television. With an ultra-calibrated nostalgic soundtrack, a wonderful production and exceptional performances, the series has everything to be the French end-of-year hit.