The Best TV Shows on FR3

Every FR3 Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Highlighting FR3’s quality programming, Intervilles and Les Secrets de la mer Rouge stand out, premiering in 1962 and 1968. Boasting a rich catalog, FR3 features more than 20 shows, with broadcasting dates ranging from 1962 to 1991. Discover the best of FR3 with our list of over 20 series, meticulously updated for September 2025.

  • L’Aéropostale, courrier du ciel
    L’Aéropostale, courrier du ciel (1980)9.0

  • Benny Hill Show
    Benny Hill Show (1980)8.5

  • Le Retour d'Arsène Lupin
    Le Retour d'Arsène Lupin (1989)7.4

    The Return of Arsène Lupin (1989) is a French crime television series consisting of 12 episodes, each approximately 55 minutes long, broadcast on FR3 between November 1989 and January 1990. It features the famous gentleman thief created by Maurice Leblanc, played here by François Dunoyer, in a more mischievous and modern interpretation than his predecessors, which retains the hero's refinement and intelligence while immersing him in stories with international overtones, with a more contemporary tone for the late 1980s.

  • Kerokko Demetan
    Kerokko Demetan (1973)6.3

    A poor young frog living in Rainbow Pond with his mother and father (a toymaker), who becomes friends with a popular and sweet girl frog named Ranatan, despite the differences in their social standings: Ranatan is the daughter of the leader of Rainbow Pond, while Demetan and his parents are tree frogs, which make them automatic outcasts in the community. Together, Demetan and Ranatan enjoy many adventures.

  • Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats
    Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats (1984)6.3

    Heathcliff knows he is the best cat around! Never have we seen such self-confidence topped off with a heavy dose of vanity, cunning, ruthlessness, and a mischievous love of gags. He cruises and struts down the street and watch out any person, cat, or dog who gets in his way! Although he may terrorize the neighborhood, let an outsider try to push anyone around and he is a veritable tiger of defense. On the other side of town are The Catillac Cats, which typically revolve around leader Riff-Raff's get-rich-quick schemes or searches for food.

  • Intervilles
    Intervilles (1962)6.0

  • Les Secrets de la mer Rouge
    Les Secrets de la mer Rouge (1968)6.0

  • L'Île Aux Enfants
    L'Île Aux Enfants (1974)6.0

    French children's television series inspired by Sesame Street featuring Casimir, an anthropomorphic orange dinosaur with yellow and red spots.

  • Diplodo
    Diplodo (1988)6.0

  • Ernest the Vampire
    Ernest the Vampire (1989)6.0

    Ernest the vampire

  • Marie Curie, une femme honorable
    Marie Curie, une femme honorable (1991)6.0

  • Paul Gauguin
    Paul Gauguin (1975)4.2

    The life of famous painter Paul Gauguin.

  • Paul et Virginie
    Paul et Virginie (1974)1.0

  • Les Jeux de 20 heures
    Les Jeux de 20 heures (1976)N/A

  • Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma
    Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma (1978)N/A

    Produced for television by Claude-Jean Philippe, the « Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma », recounts the history of French cinema from its birth to the beginning of the 1960s. With commentary read by Jean Rochefort.

  • Mazarin
    Mazarin (1978)N/A

  • Merci Bernard
    Merci Bernard (1982)N/A

  • The Year of the French
    The Year of the French (1982)N/A

    The Year of the French was a television serial, directed by Michael Garvey and based on the novel by Thomas Flanagan, which was first broadcast in 1982. It was a co-production by the Irish broadcaster RTÉ, the British television company Channel Four and the French broadcaster FR3, now France 3. The first episode was shown on RTÉ television on 18 November 1982. In France the programme was known as L'année des Français and was first broadcast on 23 May 1983. The title refers to the year 1798 when French troops sailed to Ireland to support Irish rebels against the British forces under Lord Cornwallis. To accompany the series Paddy Moloney composed and arranged music which was performed by The Chieftains with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, conducted by Proinnsias O'Duinn, and with Ruairi Somers on bagpipes. The album of this music was released in 1983.

  • Le croc-note show
    Le croc-note show (1986)N/A

  • L'or et le papier
    L'or et le papier (1989)N/A