Bérénice Eveno Directs Paris Spy Thriller 'Sleepless Nights' for SND

Bérénice Eveno, the cinematographer who shot "The Handmaid's Tale," is directing "Sleepless Nights," a six-part spy thriller now in post-production and due for delivery by the end of 2026. SND is launching international sales at Mipcom in Cannes.

The series was commissioned by NBCUniversal for France, Spain, Poland, Belgium, Switzerland and the former Yugoslavia, and is the first project from SND Fictions, the new scripted-TV arm of French commercial broadcaster M6.

What is the series about?

The story follows Céline, who has spent a decade at The Red, an upscale strip club on the Champs-Élysées. She learns the trade of seduction. One of her regulars turns out to be an arms dealer with ties to a terror plot. France's domestic intelligence agency, the DGSI, recruits her for an operation that spirals out of control in the world she already knows. Céline has no training and no backup. Her job is to help intelligence agent Clément Meyer dismantle a network before it strikes Paris.

Who stars?

French actor Sawsan Abes ("Ourika") leads as Céline. The supporting cast includes:

• Jérémie Laheurte — "Paris Police 1900," "Blue Is the Warmest Colour"
• Sabrina Ouazani — "The Hook Up Plan"
• David Kammenos — "The New Look"
• Marin Judas — "Titane"

The series was created by Inan Çiçek ("Flashback") and Florian Spitzer ("The Countess of Monte Cristo"), with co-writers David Robert and Charlotte Robb, both veterans of the smash-hit French crime comedy "HPI" that inspired ABC's "High Potential."

What does the cinematographer bring to directing?

The move from shooting dystopian American politics on "The Handmaid's Tale" to directing Parisian strip-club noir is jarring on paper, though Eveno treats it as a pivot toward authorship rather than a retooling of genre.

"What fascinated me was the contrast between glamour and danger," she said. "The same city that promises freedom can become a trap in a matter of seconds." She wanted viewers to "experience the world of espionage through the eyes of someone who was never meant to be part of it."

Who is selling it?

Alexis Reybet-Degat, head of international TV series sales at SND, frames the project as something markets will recognise.

"'Sleepless Nights' is exactly the kind of high-concept thriller international buyers are looking for today: a fresh arena and a universal story, wrapped in the glamour of Paris," he said. "It brings together the procedural tension of the best spy dramas and the raw, nocturnal energy of contemporary cinema."

The series is produced by Quentin de Revel and Younes Nemiche. De Revel, head of drama at SND Fictions, ties the project to the arm's wider ambitions.

"This series embodies the eclecticism and creative ambition that characterizes SND Fictions' approach to selecting projects," he said. "It would never have come to life without NBC's demanding and unwavering support throughout the project's development."

M6 is best known in France for reality formats and prime-time entertainment. SND Fictions is the group's attempt to capture a slice of the international scripted market that has long eluded French broadcasters. If buyers warm to "Sleepless Nights" at Mipcom, the playbook is set: a French production house, NBCUniversal's commissioning reach, and a taste for spy thrillers dressed in Parisian neon.