Hiam Abbass, best known as Marcia Roy in HBO’s Succession, is set to star in Oussekine, an upcoming French drama from Disney+ and its new content hub Star.
The streamer has released a trailer (watch below) for the four-part series, which revolves around the events between December 5 to December 6, 1986, that led to the death of French-Algerian student Malik Oussekine (Messiah‘s Sayyid El Alami). It marks the first time the tragic real-life story has been adapted for screen.
Oussekine was chased and beaten by police during a mass student protest in Paris opposing university reforms and proposed immigration restrictions. While Oussekine was transported to a hospital, it was later revealed that he had died on the spot. His death sparked further protests, and the laws were scrapped two days later.
The upcoming series will detail Oussekine’s family in their fight for justice, taking viewers on a journey into the 1980s and highlighting how the young man’s death impacted French society.
“Oussekine wishes to tell the facts and restore them without prejudice,” said the show’s creator Antoine Chevrollier (via Deadline). “To tell this story 35 years after the event is also to show the story’s timeless themes – the fight for justice, the grieving process, and brotherly bonds in the face of life’s tragedies.”
Abbass, who has found recent success as the Roy family matriarch in Succession, plays Oussekine’s mother, Aicha Oussekine. She stars alongside The Bureau‘s Malek Lamraoui and Paradise Beach‘s Tewfik Jallab.
Faïza Guène, Cédric Ido and Julien Lilti serve as writers on the series alongside Chevrollier. Itinéraire Productions’ Anthony Lancret and Pierre Laugier produce for Disney+.
Oussekine marks the streamer’s latest push for original international programming. At its investor day last December, Disney+ announced that it will greenlight 50 international projects by 2024. Other French series coming to Disney+ include the fantasy drama Parallels, comedy Weekend Family, and docuseries Soprano: Sing or Die.
Oussekine, TBA, Star on Disney+
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