On TF1, Section de recherches presents a new episode titled Neige sang. This episode was filmed in Savoie during the winter of 2024. The program will be broadcast on October 23, 2025, at 9:10 PM. In Bonneval-sur-Arc, a fictional murder engages Martin Bernier‘s team against a snowy and isolated valley. Between high mountains and interiors recreated at the Cloître (Marseille), the channel bets on an exotic French crime drama. The setting influences the method and movements of the characters.
In Bonneval, the white silence is torn apart
At dawn, Bonneval-sur-Arc closes under dense snow. The main street is just a corridor of powder, the cold bites the fingers, the silence swallows the footsteps. Under the bell tower, roofs heavy with frost, a village nestled against the mountain. It is here that Neige sang, the new episode of Section de recherches, begins. It transforms an idyllic landscape into a crime scene. The air smells of damp wood and wet wool, the slope watches every misstep.
A fictional murder at the foot of the church
The dramatic tension holds in a few images. Ski vacation for Martin Bernier and his team. A macabre discovery "at the foot of the village church." The investigation begins, undercover, alongside Hannah, the local brigade chief. The victim, Charles Maurois, a former Parisian architect, came seeking peace. The mountain echoes back other sounds. The trails converge, blur, escape, then return to the heart of Bonneval-sur-Arc. Everything is fiction, but the places are very real.
In two parts of 45 minutes, the standalone episode prioritizes efficiency: a situation, a setting, a face, and clues revealed under the harsh light of a winter afternoon. The structure follows the terrain: brief ascents, plateaus, tight turns, up to the final pass.
Broadcast: what you need to know
The French TV movie is broadcast by TF1 on Thursday, October 23, 2025, at 9:10 PM (Paris time). The first part is immediately followed by the conclusion. The channel offers a "special episode" in prime time. This episode is part of the continuity of recent standalone formats. Official summaries and profiles are available on the channel’s professional website.
The return of the exotic standalone on TF1
Since its inception, Section de recherches alternates between seasons and standalones that take the team away from its base. The mountain here serves as a counterpoint to the azure coast often associated with the series. TF1 claims an "exotic" setting, conducive to renewing the codes of the crime drama without denying the mechanics of the procedural. On screen, geography becomes a narrative element: altitude, isolation, weather, blocked roads, harsh horizon. Each constraint feeds the investigation.
For the record, Section de recherches is one of the most recognized police franchises on French television. It is carried by established characters and serial writing capable of venturing into long formats.
An emblematic cast, a significant reinforcement
The cast brings together the historical figures: Xavier Deluc (Martin Bernier), Franck Sémonin (Lucas Auriol), Fabienne Carat (Jeanne Lorieux), Félicité Chaton (Victoire ‘Vicky’ Cabral). Claire Borotra takes on the role of Hannah, a gendarmerie officer based in the valley. The setup plays on complementarity: the team, experienced in sensitive cases, faces a mountain community that protects its habits and rhythm.
The characters evolve in unknown territory. The dialogues focus on the precision of gestures: picking up a trace or questioning in a cramped café. Then, they wait for a face to close or open. Thus, they understand the local logic of movements, work, and seasons.
Behind the scenes: filming in the heart of Savoie
Filming in Savoie (Nov.–Dec. 2024): Bonneval-sur-Arc, Bessans, and La Plagne. The conditions were those of an early winter: abundant snow, very short daylight, reduced logistics, teams on the move. The technical managers describe compact days where a few minutes are gained on setup. Moreover, the setting adapts to the weather. The filming announcement published by the channel details the setup and the creative team (director: Stéphane Kappes, screenplay: Yann Le Gal, production: Les Auteurs Associés).
The HQ interiors were recreated in Marseille, at the Cloître (13th), a third-place set up in a former convent, now a social innovation hub. The site offers large volumes, simple circulation, and interesting light for command scenes. It concentrates the "office" spaces, briefing rooms, and technical areas.
Landmarks: from Bonneval to Marseille, the crime map
Bonneval-sur-Arc, a classified commune in Haute-Maurienne, is one of the highest inhabited villages in Savoie. Dry stones, slate roofs, tightly packed chalets: the setting carries a strong identity, shaped by the seasons and mountain economy. The church dominates the square, its simple volumes catching the snow and wind. The film exploits this imagery without exoticism and anchors its narrative in concrete paths: the Iseran pass road, valley bottom orchards, ski schools, lifts that stop when bad weather sets in.
A few kilometers away, Bessans offers an opening: a Nordic ski plateau, widened fields, a brighter perspective. La Plagne, on the other hand, offers massive lines and volumes of an integrated resort, the contrast between contemporary architecture and mineral material. Each segment brings a different visual sign to the investigation.
To grasp the territorial context, one can locate the village at the heart of the department, in the continuity of the inner valleys that make Savoie unique. At the other end of the narrative arc, Marseille anchors the interiors. The transition from high mountains to the coastline is not just a production effect. Indeed, it accompanies the construction of a nomadic investigation. It’s how the police circulate between field and station, wide shot and close-up.
A narrative mechanism serving the landscape
The standalone format imposes its law: no digression, clear stakes, a blend of suspense and observation. Neige sang chooses to let the mountain speak: time, breath, snow reclaiming its place, light fading. The twists rely on a short time, that of vacations that become complicated. Moreover, it is a village that tightens its secrets. The camera lingers on the materials: wood, stone, cold metal, fogged glass.
The direction favors tight spaces—church, lodge, café, station—and sudden outings to the raw exterior: a frozen forecourt, a treacherous alley, a wind-beaten slope. The snow becomes a character: it covers, erases, reveals. It clings to clothes, muffles sounds, alters orientation. The trails are never just ski trails.
Analysis: direction and grammar of televised crime drama
Neige sang fits into the tradition of French procedural while bending it to the terrain. The direction favors constrained spaces (church, lodge, HQ) and sudden exits to the outside: the contrast effect maintains continuous tension. The windbreakers, fog, gloves slow down gestures and become dramatic signs. The story gains credibility when it lets the material speak: snow, stone, metal.
The editing follows a short time (vacations that turn): alternating tight interrogations and scouting, false leads quickly closed. The sounds muffled by the snow reduce musical bravado: you hear the crunch of footsteps, the static of radios, the characters’ breath. The frame favors slope lines and backlighting on the whiteness: a visual grammar that makes the mountain a partner in play rather than just a backdrop.
In terms of televised crime drama, the 2 × 45 min standalone plays on clarity: a crime, an almost closed circle expanded by neighboring resorts, a collective known to the public. The psychology is written in touches: a too-quiet café, a face that closes, damp objects left to dry. The process reinforces the idea that the truth lies as much in logistics (roads, weather, schedules) as in intentions.
Cultural policy and economy: what a shoot in Savoie changes
On a French scale, the production of a standalone relies on a financial setup combining several elements. First, there are pre-purchases by the channel. Then, there are contributions from the producer as well as national and regional public tools. The audiovisual tax credit supports television fiction works shot mainly on the territory and meeting cultural criteria. This mechanism, managed by the CNC, aims to relocate shoots and stabilize technical employment.
On the territories side, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region has a film commission. Additionally, it has an investment fund via Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma. The support ranges from scouting to circulation permits, including guidance towards local teams. The Alpine massif concentrates a significant portion of the region’s annual shooting days. Indeed, they are attracted by the diversity of altitudes and the logistics of structured resorts.
Beyond the image, a shoot mobilizes accommodations, catering, transportation, security, post-production, generating direct benefits and ripple effects (training, equipment). In return, the communities demand compliance with eco-responsible charters (waste, travel, energy) and the visibility of the territories on screen. This cultural and economic framework highlights the use of Savoie as a set.
Reception: first figures and positioning
Broadcast on October 23, 2025, the standalone attracts about 3.21 million viewers for the first part. Indeed, according to the first reports published on October 24, it reaches an average of about 2.91 million and 17.8% audience share for the evening. A leading level in prime time, in a competitive offer loaded, confirms the appeal of the standalone format. Indeed, this is particularly true for an established brand.
These data place Neige sang within a prime-time strategy where generalist channels seek occasional events with strong visual identities. The bet on the readable mountain, immediately differentiating—ticks this box while feeding the local economy of the shoot.
A creative team in full coherence
Stéphane Kappes directs, with a taste for natural spaces and fast paces. Yann Le Gal handles the screenplay, focused on a gallery of witnesses with ambiguous motives. The production Les Auteurs Associés coordinates a short and demanding shoot. In connection with local communities, they collaborate with territory professionals. The cast relies on the historical core, reinforced by Claire Borotra in the role of Hannah.
These elements, once established, explain the sensation of unity that permeates the unit: a framework, a story, a troupe, and constraints transformed into aesthetic assets.
Fiction and Reality: Lines Not to Be Confused
The murder and the events mentioned are entirely fictional. The villages mentioned, their buildings, and their inhabitants exist in their own reality. The narrative does not aim to describe a community but to use a known and respected landscape to explore universal themes: fear, guilt, lies, and attachment to place.
This clarification serves as a reminder: the strength of the setting does not allow for confusion. Here, the mountain is not just a backdrop; it is substance, weather, and a legal framework (routes, rescue, responsibilities). This subtle realism gives the film its texture.
What the Mountain Says
In the end, there is the snow. It absorbs sounds, hits the walls, dims the sky, cools the skin. It forces one to slow down, to calculate every move. It tests the investigators as much as the suspects. Neige sang succeeds in its challenge: making the landscape a driving force. And when TF1 turns off the credits, there remains this impression of altitude. An image of a village appears, while a glow shines on a window. Then, the crack of a step on the powder is heard.