Good People (French: Des gens bien) is a 2022 Belgian television crime drama, comedy series. Its six episodes were broadcast from 23 October 2022 on La Une. It was created, written and directed by Stéphane Bergmans, Matthieu Donck and Benjamin d'Aoust. It was produced by Helicotronc, RTBF, Arte, Unité and Proximus. Action is set in mid-2022 in the fictitious border towns of Juvin (Belgium) and Ressac (France), and the surrounding areas. Good People stars Lucas Meister as a policeman, Tom who stages a car accident, which supposedly killed his wife, Linda (Bérangère McNeese). It was broadcast in France via Arte and streamed in Australia on SBS-TV's On Demand from 13 April 2023. The series won the Grand Prix for TV series at the Luchon TV Festival 2023. In late April 2023 series creators Donck, Bergmans and d'Aoust confirmed that a second season was being prepared.
Contents
Premise
Tom and Linda live in the small Belgian town of Juvin. Tom's a policeman and Linda runs a tanning salon. They struggle financially and have missed loan repayments. Linda wants to improve her business. While drunk, Linda practices archery and inadvertently kills Carole, an apparently homeless woman, with an arrow. To dispose of Carole's corpse and solve their financial worries, Tom and Linda stage a single vehicle collision. They choose a dangerous stretch of road in France's nearby Ressac region. The couple enlist Linda's criminal cousin, Serge to assist. Carole's corpse is placed in their car's front passenger seat, Tom pushes it down a ravine and then sets it alight. Linda hides out in Tom's sister, Corinne's cabin. Meanwhile Tom deceives people into believing that Linda accidentally died.
Tom waits to collect Linda's life insurance payout. His most ardent supporters are Ressac's police major, Roger and evangelical church leader, Pastor Bruno. Linda's former lover, Phillippe becomes suspicious of Tom, but cannot convince his colleague Stéphane or their boss Roger that Tom killed Linda. Tom's colleague Joseph hungers for an exciting case instead of mundane speed cameras. Local wastrel and drug-user Pierrot reports his girlfriend, Carole's kidnapping by "snake man". Initially, Joseph dismisses Pierrot's claims as drug-related delusions. Roger determines "Linda"'s death was accidental – no autopsy. Tom has the corpse quickly cremated. Phillippe follows Tom to the cabin, where he sees Linda alive, but Phillippe has a heart attack and dies. Serge discovers Phillippe's corpse and shifts it into the man's car, placing heart pills next to it.
Cast and characters
Lucas Meister as Tom Leroy: Juvin policeman, Linda's husband
Bérangère McNeese as Linda Vandersteen Leroy: Juvin resident, beautician, Tom's wife, archery enthusiast
Peter Van Den Begin as Serge Vandersteen: Linda's cousin; paroled criminal
Jean-François Gallotte as Pasteur Bruno (English: Pastor Bruno): Ressac's Evangelical Protestant Church's priest
Gwen Berrou as Corinne Leroy: Tom's widowed sister, evangelical Christian
Dominique Pinon as Roger Rabet: Ressac police Major, Tom's supporter
India Hair as Stéphane Foumara: Ressac policewoman, Phillippe's partner, Roger's subordinate, Cathy's former lover
Julie Duclos as Sylvie Martin: Philippe's pregnant wife
Marie-Luc Adam as Paroissienne 1 (English: "Parishioner 1"): Corinne's fellow evangelist
Mona Lederman as Carole d'Acoz: Pierrot's girlfriend, worships Anubis, drug-user, arsonist, Queen Mathilde's cousin
Michaël Abiteboul as Philippe Blanquart: Ressac policeman, Sylvie's husband, Stéphane's colleague, archery enthusiast, Linda's lover
Nicolas Buysse as Joseph Gobelet: Juvin policeman, Tom's colleague
Eline Schumacher as Patricia Gamas: Ressac policewoman, Tom's former lover