Welcome to the Kominek-show. Netflix released the first season of “Recal” on April 23, a new French-made production. Since then, it has been at the top of the content. The series is number 1 in France and ranks in the top 10 worldwide for non-English series. Alexandre Kominek faces a variety of well-known faces in this delightful and enjoyable firework display.
Eddie (Alexandre Kominek) is a professional scammer. After being caught by the cops, he is offered a deal to escape the 7 years of prison awaiting him: infiltrate a high school to identify the child of a dangerous criminal. He then slips into the role of a contractual math teacher in a northern French school. The problem is, he doesn’t have the codes: neither those of the teachers nor those of the Generation Alpha students at the beginning of the 2010s.
Initially hesitant to press ‘play’, we were captivated by “Recal” for several reasons. First, the pace of the jokes thrown by Eddie is relentless. He takes no breaks to tease Lucie, the police officer in charge of his cover played by Laurence Arné, poke fun at the students of this overly fragile generation, and invent lies bigger than himself. It’s impossible not to recognize the talent of entertainer and imitator that Alexandre Kominek brings to the table, a talent he uses on stage, on France Inter, and showcased in the 5th season of “LOL Qui rit sort” last year.
A series that is devoured like a bag of chips
The series created by François Uzan, to whom Netflix subscribers already owe “Lupin,” also features many delightful secondary characters. Fred Testot as the school guard, Joséphine de Meaux as the head of student affairs who calls everyone “my darling,” Sabrina Ouazani as the reckless history teacher, Yannick Landrein as the unionized teacher, Bérengère McNeese as the conspiracy theorist Russian teacher, and Mathilde Seigner as Eddie’s mother.
“Recal” offers a caricatural but endearing view of the high school world and teachers’ lounge. Eddie, like the viewers, is lost among acronyms like ENT and the Parcoursup system, completely unaware of how he should address the students.
Finally, “Recal” earns extra points for consisting of only eight episodes, each lasting a maximum of 35 minutes. And that’s refreshing.
“Recal” is a light and flavorful series, to be compulsively enjoyed like a bag of chips (vinegar flavored, of course). No, the storyline is not revolutionary, nor filled with jaw-dropping plot twists. But let’s be honest, making us crave the next episode for over two hours without having to think too hard, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
