Plan B Budget

What Is the Budget of Plan B (2023)?

Plan B (2023), the French time-travel dramedy adapted from the Quebec original Plan B (2017) and produced by Federation Studios for the French broadcaster M6 with international distribution through Federation Sales, was made on an estimated per-episode budget of approximately €1,200,000 to €1,500,000, or roughly $1,300,000 to $1,650,000 USD. Across six episodes in the French season, the cumulative production spend is estimated at approximately $7,800,000 to $9,900,000 in period dollars. Specific Federation and M6 budgets are not publicly disclosed, but the figures align with the standard premium French scripted series tariff during the production window.

The series is a French-language adaptation of Jean-François Asselin and Jacques Drolet's original Quebec series Plan B (2017), which ran for two seasons on ICI Tou.tv Extra in Canada. The French adaptation, developed by Niels Rahou for M6, retained the original's time-travel-as-second-chance premise: a man whose marriage has fallen apart is offered the chance to relive a single critical moment in his past, with each "Plan B" pulling him back into a parallel iteration of his own life.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

Plan B's per-episode spend broke down across the cost centres typical of a premium French scripted dramedy, with several show-specific items reflecting the time-travel-driven story engine:

• Above-the-Line Cast: Julien Boisselier, Aliocha Itovich, and the supporting French ensemble represented the largest above-the-line line item. The premium French scripted-series talent pool drove cast costs above standard French network drama rates without reaching American premium-cable benchmarks.
• Time-Travel Visual Effects: The transitions between iterations, including the recurring "Plan B Inc." office that brokers each reset, required dedicated visual effects work above standard French dramedy norms. The VFX budget supported temporal-shift graphics, period set redresses, and the recurring symbolic objects that bridge each iteration.
• Production Design and Period Redress: Each "Plan B" iteration required a redressed version of the same domestic and workplace sets to reflect the alternate timeline, with subtle but recurring production design choices marking each variant. The compounding redress cost across six episodes pushed production design above standard contemporary-set French drama.
• Paris and Île-de-France Location Production: Principal photography took place in Paris and the broader Île-de-France region. The series used French regional crew rates and Île-de-France film commission support to keep weekly cost manageable.
• Federation Studios In-House Production: Federation Studios, the Pascal Breton-founded French independent producer behind Marseille and The Bureau, made the show in-house with its established premium scripted production pipeline.
• French Tax Credit Support: The series qualified for the French tax rebate for international audiovisual production (TRIP) and CNC support, which reduced net production cost to Federation and M6 below the gross episodic budget.
• Original Music: An original French score reflecting the show's mix of melancholy and comedic tone, plus licensed French and international song placements for the recurring iteration-spanning needle drops.
• Federation Sales International Distribution: Federation Sales handled international distribution, including English-language territories. The international sales overhead is embedded in the show's broader Federation Studios production economics.

How Does Plan B's Budget Compare to Similar Series?

At an estimated $1,300,000 to $1,650,000 per episode, Plan B sat in the standard French premium scripted-series tier, below American premium streamer benchmarks but well above public-service French network drama. The comparison set illustrates how it priced against contemporaneous high-concept European drama:

• Plan B (2017): Estimated per-episode budget approximately $700,000 to $900,000 CAD. The original Quebec series produced by KOTV for ICI Tou.tv Extra ran at roughly half the budget of the French adaptation, with smaller Quebec-based crew rates and tighter time-travel VFX scope. The Quebec version ran for two seasons of 10 episodes each.
• Russian Doll (2019): Estimated per-episode budget approximately $4,000,000 to $5,000,000. Netflix's American time-loop dramedy created by Natasha Lyonne and Amy Poehler cost roughly three times Plan B per episode, illustrating the gap between French premium scripted and American premium streamer economics for the same high-concept time-loop genre.
• Trigger Point (2022): Estimated per-episode budget approximately £1,500,000 ($1,900,000). ITV's Vicky McClure thriller hit a similar premium European scripted tariff, with comparable French and UK premium scripted economics in the early 2020s.
• The Bureau (2015): Estimated per-episode budget approximately €1,500,000 to €2,000,000 ($1,650,000 to $2,200,000). Federation Studios's flagship Canal+ espionage drama ran at a slightly higher tariff than Plan B, with international location work and elaborate tradecraft sequences pushing it above the dramedy tariff.
• Lupin (2021): Estimated per-episode budget approximately €4,000,000 to €5,000,000. Netflix's Omar Sy French heist drama cost roughly three to four times Plan B per episode, reflecting Netflix's premium global streamer production economics versus M6's linear French network tariff.
• Call My Agent! (2015): Estimated per-episode budget approximately €700,000 to €900,000. France Télévisions's Mon Voisin Productions Paris-set entertainment-industry dramedy ran at roughly half the Plan B tariff on the same kind of contemporary-set domestic comedic-drama premise, illustrating that Plan B's premium reflected the time-travel VFX overhead.

Plan B Season Performance and Syndication

Plan B premiered on M6 in France in 2023 and was rolled out to international territories through Federation Sales. The show's economic framework breaks down as follows:

• Per-Episode Budget: approximately $1,300,000 to $1,650,000 USD across the six-episode French season
• Total Series Investment: approximately $7,800,000 to $9,900,000 across six episodes
• Network: M6 in France; Federation Sales international distribution; Netflix in selected territories
• Audience/Ratings: M6 French linear ratings figures not publicly broken out at the series level; the show was a competitive performer within M6's premium scripted slate
• International Distribution: Federation Sales handled international distribution to English-language and additional European territories; Netflix carried the series in selected markets
• Library/Syndication Value: Premium French scripted catalogue title; available on M6+ in France and on international streamers in selected markets; the original Quebec version remains a separate catalogue title on ICI Tou.tv Extra

Plan B's commercial logic is typical of premium French scripted drama: a French network licence fee covering a substantial portion of production cost, with Federation Sales international distribution and streamer secondary sales completing the financial picture. The six-episode French season was positioned as a self-contained limited series, although the format leaves open the possibility of further iteration-driven seasons.

The success of the original Quebec Plan B (2017) franchise (two seasons of 10 episodes each on ICI Tou.tv Extra) established the format internationally, and the French adaptation forms part of Federation Studios' broader strategy of acquiring and adapting strong Quebec scripted properties for the French and international markets.

Plan B Production History

The original Plan B (2017) was created by Jean-François Asselin and Jacques Drolet for Radio-Canada's streaming service ICI Tou.tv Extra, produced by Quebec independent KOTV. The original ran for two seasons (2017 and 2019) of 10 episodes each and won multiple Prix Gémeaux awards in Quebec for its writing and directing craft. The premise, a mysterious "Plan B Inc." that offers clients the chance to relive a single critical past moment, became one of Quebec's most exported scripted properties of the late 2010s.

Federation Studios acquired the French-language European adaptation rights through Federation Sales and developed the French version with Niels Rahou as showrunner for M6. Federation Studios, founded by Pascal Breton in 2014, had established itself by the early 2020s as one of the leading French premium scripted producers, with credits including Marseille (Netflix), The Bureau / Le Bureau des Légendes (Canal+), and the Found in Translation Federation Sales catalogue.

Casting Julien Boisselier in the central role transposed the original Quebec premise onto a recognisable French dramatic actor with a portfolio across film and television. The supporting French ensemble was sourced primarily from the established Paris-based scripted-television talent pool, with Aliocha Itovich and the broader cast anchoring the time-travel iterations across the six-episode run.

Principal photography took place in Paris and the broader Île-de-France region across 2022. Production design was a particular focus, with each "Plan B" iteration requiring a redressed version of the same domestic and workplace sets to reflect the alternate timeline. The Federation Studios in-house pipeline managed VFX work for the temporal-shift transitions and the recurring "Plan B Inc." office sequences.

The French adaptation maintained the original Quebec series' core premise and emotional architecture while updating the cultural specifics to a French setting. The series was distributed internationally through Federation Sales, with English-language and additional European territory deals concluded across 2023. The original Quebec property continues to be exploited separately by KOTV and Radio-Canada on ICI Tou.tv Extra.

Awards and Recognition

Plan B (2023) received French scripted-television industry attention on its M6 launch, particularly in profile coverage in Le Film Français, Mediapart, and Télérama. The series was highlighted in international scripted-television trade press as an example of Federation Studios' premium adaptation pipeline and of the strength of the Quebec-to-France scripted exchange.

The original Quebec Plan B (2017) won multiple Prix Gémeaux awards across its two-season run, including for writing, directing, and lead performance. The French adaptation has not yet accumulated the same major-awards profile but received steady positive recognition in French critical reception.

Federation Studios' broader Plan B exploitation, including the French adaptation and Federation Sales' international distribution work, has been highlighted within the European scripted industry as a model for how strong Quebec scripted IP can be successfully adapted for the broader French-speaking and international markets.

Critical Reception

Plan B (2023) received generally positive French critical reception on its M6 launch. Télérama praised the series's "remarkable restraint in handling its time-travel conceit, treating each iteration as an emotional rather than mechanical exercise," and Le Monde noted that the French adaptation "successfully ports the Quebec original's melancholic core into a Parisian sensibility." Le Figaro highlighted Julien Boisselier's "quietly anguished" central performance.

Common French critical observations focused on the limited-series scope of the six-episode French season versus the 10-episode Quebec original's greater room for emotional development. Mediapart noted that the compression "forces the show into a tighter dramatic shape but loses some of the original's exploratory quality." The production design choices, particularly the visual-cue distinctions between alternate iterations, were widely praised.

International reception via Federation Sales-distributed territories was modest but steady, with the series positioned as a high-concept French dramedy rather than a breakout export. The Quebec original retains a stronger international scripted-industry profile for its longer run and Prix Gémeaux pedigree, while the French adaptation sits as a respected secondary iteration of the property.