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Kaboul Kitchen

Kaboul Kitchen
GenreComedy
Created byMarc Victor
Allan Mauduit
Jean-Patrick Benes
StarringGilbert Melki
Simon Abkarian
Stéphanie Pasterkamp
Theme music composerChristophe Julien
Country of originFrance
Original languageFrench
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes36
Production
Executive producersJoëy Faré
Marco Cherqui
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkCanal+
ReleaseFebruary 13, 2012 (2012-02-13) –
present

Kaboul Kitchen is a French comedy television series broadcast by Canal+. It was created by Marc Victor, Allan Mauduit and Jean-Patrick Benes. The series is based on the true story of Radio France Internationale journalist Marc Victor, who ran a restaurant for French expatriates in Kabul until 2008.[1][2] The first series premiered on February 15, 2012, on Canal+ and ended on March 5, 2012. It set a ratings record for comedy series in the primetime slot on Canal+.[3] A second series of 12 episodes aired in France in 2014.

The series depicts the life of French expatriate Jacky who runs the popular restaurant Kaboul Kitchen in Kabul, Afghanistan. His daughter Sophie, who he has not seen in 20 years, arrives to do humanitarian work, while he is interested in keeping the restaurant afloat with challenges of local officials, Taliban neighbors, and more.

The series won two Golden FIPA Awards at the 2012 Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels: one for Best TV Series and one for Best TV Screenplay. It was screened at MIPTV and named fourth on The Hollywood Reporter's list of "MIPTV A-List Projects" for the most promising series screened at the event.[4]

Cast

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Production

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The series is loosely based on the real life experiences of journalist and co-creator of the series, Marc Victor. From 2003 to 2008, Victor ran a French restaurant for foreign NGO workers in Kabul. Although much in the series is for dramatic effect, a few incidents, such as a wealthy donor sending skis to Afghanistan, really happened.[5]

Gilbert Melki was selected to play the mercenary Jacky as he had evenly divided his career between comedy and drama films, a quality creator Allan Mauduit found desirable. The series was filmed mainly in Casablanca, Morocco where the crew had to use dust machines to simulate the dusty conditions of Kabul. The actors studied Dari with language coaches.[5]

A third season was broadcast in France in 2017.

A fourth season has been claimed to be in production.

Episode list

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Series 1

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# Title Director Original air date
1"La fille à la grosse valise"Jean-Patrick Benes13 February 2012 (2012-02-13)
Jacky's daughter arrives in Kabul. She wants to do humanitarian work, but he just wants her to leave.
2"La piscine"Jean-Patrick Benes13 February 2012 (2012-02-13)
Jacky runs into trouble when swimsuit-clad girls in his pool cause controversy.
3"La panthère et l'imprimeur"Jean-Patrick Benes13 February 2012 (2012-02-13)
Colonel Amanullah decides to help Jacky find a reliable liquor supplier, but he ends up causing more problems.
4"Dollars et passion"Unknown20 February 2012 (2012-02-20)
Jacky must pay his taxes, but quickly falls for the tax comptroller.
5"Peur sur Kaboul"Unknown20 February 2012 (2012-02-20)
Jacky hires guards to reassure his frightened patrons after two rockets fall on Kabul.
6"Vices et versets"Unknown20 February 2012 (2012-02-20)
Jacky is forced to hide Colonel Amanullah's mistress at the restaurant.
7"Le départ de Sophie"Unknown27 February 2012 (2012-02-27)
When Jacky gets a stomachache, he is convinced that he has cancer.
8"Petits mensonges entre amis"Unknown27 February 2012 (2012-02-27)
One of Jacky's old friends, a journalist, comes to Kabul to investigate the opium trade.
9"Martine à Kaboul"Unknown27 February 2012 (2012-02-27)
Jacky's ex-wife arrives in Kabul, demanding €60,000 in child support that he owes her.
10"Crise de foi"Unknown5 March 2012 (2012-03-05)
The restaurant's cook is unhappy with the pork and alcohol served at Kaboul Kitchen and decides to go on strike.
11"Cool à Kaboul"Unknown5 March 2012 (2012-03-05)
When riots break out in the city, Jacky must rescue Sophie, the restaurant and all of his patrons.
12"Pas cool à Kaboul"Unknown5 March 2012 (2012-03-05)
A pile of money vanishes and the Taliban show up.

Ratings

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Episodes Air date Number of viewers
1, 2 and 3 February 13, 2012 940,000[6]
10, 11 and 12 March 5, 2012 875 000[7]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ Charlotte Pudlowski (February 14, 2012). ""Kaboul Kitchen", ou l'histoire d'un resto branché à Kaboul". 20 Minutes (in French). Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  2. ^ "L'Atmosphère: Press Review". latmospherekabul.blogs.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  3. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (March 13, 2012). "AB sells 'Tony's Revenge' to several webs: 'Kaboul Kitchen' to kick off sales at Mip". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  4. ^ Roxborough, Scott (March 28, 2012). "MIPTV A-List Projects". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Didier, Carine (February 13, 2012). ""Kaboul Kitchen" : une comédie au pays de la burqa". La Parisienne (in French). Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  6. ^ T. Destouches (February 14, 2012). "Audiences: "Joséphine" triomphe encore|série=" (in French). AlloCiné. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  7. ^ A. Loum (March 7, 2012). "Kaboul Kitchen renouvelé par Canal +" (in French). Brain Damaged. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  8. ^ "French TV comedy series wins top prize in Seoul Drama Awards". Yonhap. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  9. ^ Sohn, Ji-ae (5 September 2014). "Alien love story steals the show at Seoul drama festival". Korea.net. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  10. ^ Lee, Min-ji (5 September 2014). "You Who Came From the Stars Wins Four Awards at Seoul International Drama Awards". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
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