The Returned (French: Les Revenants) is a 2012 television series about the dead returning to life created by Fabrice Gobert and shown on Canal+ in France and BeTV in Belgium. It is an adaptation of the 2004 French film They Came Back. The soundtrack to the series was written by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai. An English adaptation is being produced by Paul Abbott and FremantleMedia, also entitled They Came Back.
In a small mountain town, many dead people re-appear, apparently alive and normal: teenagers Simon and Camille, “Victor”, a small boy who was murdered by burglars, and Serge, a serial killer. They try to resume their lives as strange phenomena occur: amongst recurring power outages, the water level of the dam mysteriously lowers, and strange marks appear on the bodies of the living and the dead.
The series received positive critical acclaim. Le Monde said that the series marked a resurgence in the fantasy genre with the dead appearing out of nowhere, trying to regain their life where they left off. Libération said that the series recalled the atmosphere of Twin Peaks by David Lynch. In France, viewing figures averaged 1.4 million over the eight episodes.
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“The Returned isn’t really a zombie drama, see — it’s more a supernatural ‘what if?’ story like a serialised Twilight Zone episode. Its French origin also gives is more of an otherworldly feel for British audiences, too, as everything’s so restrained and it allows itself time to build a thick atmosphere. Of course, tolerances will vary and some will already declare it pretentious and inert, but as first episodes go I thought this was a spellbinding hour with huge potential.” MSN TV
“With its subdued colour palette and painterly compositions, The Returned looks lovely too, even when it’s at its most shocking – not many series can aestheticise the sight of someone being stabbed to death in a subway, or a pensioner taking a dive off a dam. Scottish post-rockers Mogwai’s ominous throbs (which you can listen to on Spotify), incidentally are the perfect accompaniment to all this picturesque gloom.” SFX
