‘This is not a Murder Mystery’ brings Belgian icon René Magritte to an international audience

The six-part series tells the story of up-and-coming artist René Magritte and his trip to the English estate of Lord James in 1936.  His brief: to work on an exhibition with colleagues including Salvador Dalí, Man Ray and Lee Miller.

These preparations take a turn for the worse when Magritte wakes up only to find the corpse of another artist lying beside him. Soon, Scotland Yard see him as a suspect, but then, in this fictional series, he tries to clear his name by investigating the death himself.

In addition to a generous helping of Flemish actors, many are the international stars who also shine in ‘This is not a Murder Mystery’: Stephen Tompkinson, Donna Banya, Jonathan Delaney Tynan, Frank Bourke, Florence Hall, Iñaki Mur, Regina Bikkinina, Mike Hoffmann, Oscar Högström, Aoibhinn McGinnity, Mathilde Warnier, Brendan O'Rourke and Mark Lambert.

‘Fiction and reality are definitely in the mix’ says director Hans Herbots. ‘To my knowledge, Magritte never woke up next to a corpse’. ‘The story takes its lead from an historical event, that is true and the characters really existed, but based on these elements the writers conjured up a whodunit,’ explains Kato Maes, producer at production company Panenka.

It’s an approach that offers many opportunities, Herbots believes. ‘The characters each have their own backgrounds, but bearing that in mind, we can still make everyone do what we want in this fictional story.’

Budding talent Pierre Gervais stars on the international stage

Blending fiction and reality in his role as René Magritte was quite a challenge for young actor Pierre Gervais. ‘I was already familiar with Magritte’s works and have read a lot about his private life. I‘ve completely absorbed all that material.’

To perform the role well, he sat down with Herbots and together they decided that he also had to learn to let go of that material. ‘All that information is stored somewhere inside of me and with these thoughts I focused on the role and delved into the mystery.’

A leading role as Magritte is not comparable to co-starring in a series like ‘High Tides’ (Knokke-off’) or a movie like ‘Julie Keeps Quiet’ (Julie zwijgt’). ‘At night I lay awake a lot feeling the pressure of portraying one of Belgium's greatest painters,’ Gervais says.

‘Add to that, I have to say everything is in English.  It’s only my third language. It took me very much out of my comfort zone. I was a bit daunted. Still, I flung myself into the role completely and thanks to a fantastic team, I succeeded.’

Herbots is pleased. ‘We were looking for someone who could convey Magritte's openness and curiosity. Pierre is someone, who as a viewer, you want to latch onto.’ Similarities with the young Magritte are certainly present.

International production

The international character is also palpable on the set. ‘It is insane how the scene has been recreated,’ says actor Geert Van Rampelberg, who plays Magritte’s manager. ‘From the floor to the roof: everything is perfect. You feel that this is something big. But for a project like this, you also just need the budget to make it convincing.’

International collaboration

The TV series ‘This is not a Murder Mystery’ is the result of the collaboration of 10 European broadcasters. Eight of these broadcasters, including VRT, also work together more broadly in the ‘New8’ alliance. ‘In this fictional series, production company Panenka, has turned Magritte, a Belgian icon, into the main character of an international whodunit,’ says producer Kato Maes.

Does the international nature result in a certain distance? ‘No, it's allows us to combine different advantages.  After all, the series was created in Belgium’ Herbots notes. ‘It’s easier for all the actors to work together in a country like Belgium, but on the other hand the big names are all present on the set and the foreign settings offer a lot of opportunities.’

Production company Panenka is very proud of the good cooperation. ‘It allows us to reach an enormous market. We are being distributed in 10 countries. 135 million people can see the series.’