If you feel like you deserve a break in the South of France and want a little crime solving while you’re there, then try the French crime show The Eclipse. UK viewers will be able to tune in at midnight on 16 March 2026 or, more conveniently, stream the six-episode series free via Walter Presents from that date onwards.
We’re not talking sun, sea and sand here, though. The Eclipse is set inland a bit on the Aubrac plateau, volcanic highlands that look a little more like the Cotswolds than the Côte D’Azure. Like Herefordshire, the area has its own breed of cattle, bred for the rough landscape and the source of Laguiole cheese. Beef too.
As the title suggests, the sun does play a role. One late summer afternoon, it hides behind the moon resulting in a total eclipse that lasts a couple of minutes. And there is foreshadowing to go with the shadowing, as a young lad explains how the Inca feared eclipses and would make a sacrifice to their sun god whenever one would occur… Nice.
While the town of Sainte Croix holds a party to celebrate the eclipse, some of its teenagers have decided to meet up on a rocky tor called Rocher de la Source, under an ancient, lichen-covered cross. Luca, the son of gendarme Manue, rolls up in his mother’s SUV because his motorbike wouldn’t start. He’s a bit stoned and looks in the glove compartment, where he finds his mother’s police pistol. What could possibly go wrong?
Luca meets two teenage girls on Rocher and just as the eclipse begins he starts waving the gun around. There’s confusion in the darkness, the gun goes off, and the 18-year-old boy has some terrible luck. The bullet strikes his girlfriend, Nour, who is just arriving on the scene to join the party.
It’s only Inès who keeps her head and tries to help Nour while Luca and the other teenager panic. When Inès goes for help on her moped, they wander off and Nour is left on her own, bleeding on the hillside.
However, when they return to the scene, Nour has disappeared. Where has she gone? Down the road? Straight across the plateau to her parents’ dairy farm? Towards the reservoir? Or was she taken? That’s the initial mystery, which will be investigated by the female gendarmes Johanna Croiset (Claire Keim) and Manue Vitali (Anne Charrier), along with the prosecutor David Levy (Hubert Dellatre).
Even as the series begins, there are several layers to what’s going on. Both Luca and Nour have been receiving anonymous texts – sexts, even – which have caused tension between them. On top of which, Nour has been trying to get in touch with her father, who lives in Buenos Aires. This has angered her step-father…
Not everybody is up front with the police as they question the teenagers and families involved. It looks bad. For example, what if it were construed that the weapon was fired on purpose? Could Luca be facing a murder or manslaughter charge? What if they knew about step-daddy’s anger issues?
It’s impossible to know until Nour is located. Much of the tension early on comes from the nighttime search for Nour across the barren hillsides. The entire community comes together – first they find her phone, then traces of blood on a country lane, and it seems even more likely now that she’s been taken with ill intent. If someone found a girl on the road who’s been shot, wouldn’t they take her straight to hospital?
There’s a lot for the police to unravel, and it’s a tricky situation for Manue as her son could become a murder suspect. She’s allowed to remain involved because of her local knowledge, which perhaps wouldn’t happen in real life. It’s also likely that the gendarmes would use cell mast triangulation to try and find a missing person, which they don’t do here.
However, perhaps the story is less about procedure and more about the little secrets that are held back, the hidden dramas that befuddle the case.
Although the area has been heavily farmed for a long time, these rugged uplands provide a wild setting and have been beautifully shot, with atmospheric mist rolling across the fields and hillsides from the reservoir. The landscape is a character, and with the stone farmhouses there is a rustic feel throughout, which feels authentic.
The Eclipse airs with English subtitles, and was originally broadcast in France as L’Eclipse in 2024. It consists of six 50-minute episodes. Viewers in the US can watch it on Amazon Prime.
