''Riviera'' is a television drama created by

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, '' Night in Tunisia'', won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. He won an Academy ...

. It premiered on

Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HBO ...

on 15 June 2017. The series stars

Anthony LaPaglia Anthony LaPaglia (, ; born 31 January 1959) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Jack Malone in the television drama ''Without a Trace'' (2002–2009), for which he received a Golden Globe Award in 2004. LaPaglia won a Prim ...

Julia Stiles Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Her film debut was a small role in ''I'' ''Love Yo ...

Lena Olin Lena Maria Jonna Olin (; born 22 March 1955) is a Swedish actress. She has received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Mentored by filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, she made her screen de ...

Adrian Lester Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey; 14 August 1968) is a British actor, director and writer. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the Lo ...

Iwan Rheon Iwan Rheon (, ; born 13 May 1985) is a Welsh actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Simon Bellamy in the E4 series '' Misfits'', Ramsay Bolton in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', and Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Ma ...

Dimitri Leonidas Dimitri Leonidas (born 14 November 1987) is an English actor, best known for his roles in ''The Monuments Men'', '' Rosewater'' and ''Riviera''. Early life Leonidas was born on 14 November 1987 in Brent, London, the son of a Greek Cypriot fath ...

and

Roxane Duran Roxane Duran (born 27 January 1993) is a French-Austrian actress. She appeared in the Palme d'Or-winning 2009 film '' The White Ribbon''. She also acted in the '' Le moine'', a 2011 French-language film directed by Dominik Moll, an adaptation o ...

. The first series of ''Riviera'' was released on 15 June 2017 on Sky Box Sets and

NOW TV Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * No ...

, and was Sky’s most successful original series, with an audience of 2.3 million an episode, and more than 20 million downloads and views total. The first series premiered in the U.S. on 9 February 2019 on Ovation. The second season premiered on the network beginning on May 8, 2021 as part of the "Mystery Alley" block in a deal with

Sky Studios Sky Studios is a production company founded by Sky in June 2019 with assets from the now defunct Sky Vision. It develops, produces and funds original drama, comedy and documentary, and has investments in a number of production businesses in ...

. The second series was announced on 21 November 2017. It was renewed for a third series on 24 May 2019.

Synopsis

Set in the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

, the series follows American art

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

Georgina Clios, whose life is upended after her billionaire husband Constantine dies in a yacht accident. Georgina becomes immersed in a world of lies, double-dealing and crime, as she seeks to uncover the truth about her husband's death.

Cast and characters

Main

as Georgina Marjorie Clios, an American art curator, and second wife of Constantine *

as Constantine Clios, a billionaire banker and philanthropist who dies in a yacht accident (series 1–2) *

as Irina Atman Clios, Constantine's first wife (series 1–2) *

as Christos Clios, Constantine and Irina's youngest son, who becomes the head of the Clios business empire (series 1–2) *

as Adriana Clios, Constantine and Irina's daughter (series 1–2) *

Igal Naor Igal Naor ( he, יגאל נאור; born ) is an Israeli actor, sometimes credited as Yigal Naor. Naor was born in Givatayim, Israel, to Mizrahi Jewish parents from Iraq. He has appeared in the American films ''Munich'', ''Green Zone'' and '' R ...

as Jakob Negrescu, Constantine's former head of security who has links with drugs, prostitution and gambling (series 1–2) *

Poppy Delevingne Poppy Angela Delevingne (born 3 May 1986)Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 3028 is an English model, socialite and blogger. Family and personal life Delevingne wa ...

as Daphne Al-Qadar, Cassandra's daughter and Nico,s twin sister, who is married to Raafi Al-Qadar (series 2–3) * Jack Fox as Nico Eltham, Cassandra's son and Daphne's twin brother (series 2–3)

Series 1

as Robert Carver; an art dealer and friend of Georgina, who deals in forgeries and stolen artwork *

as Adam Clios; Constantine and Irina's eldest son, who rejects his family's extravagant lifestyle * Phil Davis as Jukes; a British art fraud investigator working in the Serious Financial Crime Agency of

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

Amr Waked Amr Waked ( ar, عمرو واكد ; born ) is an Egyptian film, television and stage actor. He is best known to international audiences and in Hollywood for his role in the 2005 film ''Syriana''. Other prominent roles include a Yemeni Sheikh calle ...

as Karim Delormes; an inspector in the

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

police force

Series 2

Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actor of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leadin ...

as Lady Cassandra Eltham; head of the prestigious Eltham dynasty *

Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular char ...

as Jeff Carter; Georgina's uncle *

Grégory Fitoussi Grégory Fitoussi (born 13 August 1976) is a French actor best known for appearing in television series such as '' Spiral'', '' Spin'' and ''Mr Selfridge''. Personal life He was born in Paris to Pied-Noir Sephardi Jewish parents. His parents ope ...

as Noah Levy; an ex-soldier and pilot-for-hire, and love interest of Georgina *

Alex Lanipekun Alex Lanipekun (born 7 April 1981) is a British actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art but left early to join the cast of the BBC drama '' Spooks'' as journalist-cum-spy Ben Kaplan, the role for which he is best known. Earl ...

as Raafi Al-Qadar; a wealthy philanthropist and businessman, married to Daphne Eltham *

Mark Holden Mark Ronald Holden (born 27 April 1954) is an Australian singer, actor, TV personality, record producer, songwriter, and barrister. He was a pop star in the 1970s and had four top 20 hit singles, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" (May 1976 ...

as Martin Sinclair; private investigator, hired by Irina

Series 3

Rupert Graves Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in ''A Room with a View'', ''Maurice'', ''The Madness of King George'' and ''The Forsyte Saga''. From 2010 to 2017 he starred ...

as Gabriel Hirsh, an antiquities recovery expert and new ally of Georgina * Clare-Hope Ashitey as Ellen Swann, Chief of Staff to Alexandra Harewood * Synnøve Macody Lund as Alexandra Harewood, a technology billionaire who is founder and CEO of Harewood Technologies * Gabriel Corrado as Victor Alsina-Suarez, the Mayor of Buenos Aires who is in league with Alexandra Harewood * Franco Masini as Cesar Alsina-Suarez, the younger son of Victor who undertakes illicit activities on behalf of his father * Eliseo Barrionuevo as Dario Alsina-Suarez, the elder son of Victor and his designated successor * Gianluca Zonzini as Thiago, a patient of doctor Alexandrain Harewood Technologies

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (2017)

Note: Every episode was available in the United Kingdom by download from Sky "catch up" following the first episode satellite broadcast.

Series 2 (2019)

Note: Every episode was available in the United Kingdom by download from Sky "catch up" following the first episode satellite broadcast.

Series 3 (2020)

Note: Every episode was available in the United Kingdom by download from Sky "catch up" following the first episode satellite broadcast.

Production

has disowned ''Riviera'', due to his scripts being reworked by others. He says he has no idea who rewrote these episodes. “They were changed, to my huge surprise and considerable upset. There were various sexual scenes introduced into the story and a lot of very expository dialogue. I objected in the strongest terms possible.” Filming for season 1 began in August 2016 in the South of France until February 2017. The Clios' lavish "Villa Carmella" estate was filmed at the Chateau Diter in the Cote d'Azur. The first episode of the series debuted at the

MIPTV Media Market MIPTV (french: Marché International des Programmes de Télévision) is an event which takes place annually in Cannes, France, using the facilities and infrastructure which the town has developed over the years to host other important events suc ...

event in Cannes on 3 April 2017. Filming for season 2 started on 21 May 2018 to September 2018 in the Cote d'Azur, Monza, Nice, and Monaco for a 2019 release. Joining the show are Will Arnett, Juliet Stevenson, Poppy Delevingne, Jack Fox and Grégory Fitoussi, returning cast include Julia Stiles, Lena Olin, Roxane Duran and Dimitri Leonidas.

Reception

Ratings

Sky stated that first episode of ''Riviera'' drew 1.2 million viewers live and on-demand, the largest audience for a

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

original series premiere since '' Fortitude'' in 2015.

BARB Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

announced official consolidated ratings for the episode as 709,000.

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

reported an audience of 2.3 million an episode, and more than 20 million downloads and views total. ''Riviera'' was rated R16 in New Zealand for graphic violence, sexual violence, offensive language, sex scenes and nudity.

Critical response

Series 1

The ''Irish Independent''s Darragh McManus described the series as an "exceedingly well-crafted

soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

" that is "beautifully filmed...with a stately pace, top-of-the-range acting talent and some interesting little philosophical musings on the nature of money." Writing for ''The Guardian'', Euan Ferguson wrote "the presences and talents of Julia Stiles, Adrian Lester, Phil Davis and Lena Olin," and called the series "borderline unmissable". On the other hand, ''The Telegraph''s Michael Hogan gave the first episode three stars out of five, noting that with

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winner

as the series' creator and

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...

-winner

John Banville William John Banville (born 8 December 1945) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, adapter of dramas and screenwriter. Though he has been described as "the heir to Proust, via Nabokov", Banville himself maintains that W. B. Yeats and Henry ...

as co-writer, "the script should have soared but was disappointingly pedestrian." ''The Guardian''s Sam Wollaston called the series "awful", concluding that "Riviera might be flashy and moneyed but it lacks personality, charm, humour, soul. It is shallow, vulgar and boring."

Series 2

Reviewing the first two episodes, Hogan of ''The Telegraph'' gave them two stars, befuddled by the show's success and then declaring "Indeed, amid all the pampered beauties and stubbly playboys, it was hard to find anybody to like, let alone root for. By the end, I was willing that rampaging boar to decimate the lot." Carol Midgley of ''The Times'' stated "Riviera is one of those shows about which one could almost write: “So bad it’s good.” But not quite because it’s mostly just bad." This reviewer gave it two stars.

Series 3

Carole Midgley of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' gave the series two out of five stars, stating 'It is a collection of ghastly, charmless people dripping in euro-bling, living obscenely rich lives in places such as Venice and St Tropez, yet who are unhappy because they are not quite rich enough.'.

References

External links

* * * {{John Banville Sky Atlantic original programming 2017 British television series debuts 2020 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series 2020s British drama television series English-language television shows French Riviera Mass media portrayals of the upper class Television shows set in France