Alex Hugo: La vallée des oubliées on France 3, Digi Mart USA News: Broadcast tonight on France 3, La vallée des oubliées marks the first time Samuel Le Bihan has directed an episode of the police series Alex Hugo, and it also brings back Lionnel Astier. Bulles de Culture spoke with the episode’s screenwriter, Véronique Lecharpy.
In the episode, Angelo (Lionnel Astier) calls Alex (Samuel Le Bihan) for help after the mysterious disappearance of his partner (Florence Hebbelynck). In a valley where several women have already vanished, the Rurale team reunites and pursues a possible serial killer.
Le Bihan, who has played the character for more than ten years, uses his first time behind the camera to take a higher vantage point, including several shots filmed with a drone. The episode features suspense, stunts, climbing and spectacular settings, along with familiar faces from French television, including Wendy Nieto, Catherine Vinatier and Luc Palun.
Damien Witecka, a regular French voice of Leonardo DiCaprio, is also in the cast.
The reviewer says the return of Lionnel Astier to Lusagne is one of the episode’s main pleasures. His reunion with the grumpy Angelo Batalla is emotional and reminds viewers how much the character has been missed, particularly alongside Alex and Tony Leblanc (Fabien Baïardi), who now occupies Angelo’s former office, a situation that produces a humorous scene.
The story is set in the Romanche valley, which was previously used by Mathieu Kassovitz for the 2000 feature film Les Rivières pourpres.
Lecharpy explained that the story began with Le Bihan’s idea. After a train problem, he passed through the valley and linked it to a news report about several women who disappeared over thirty years in another valley.
She said the writing was a close collaboration rather than a simple division between writer and director. On Angelo’s return, she said the character had retired two years earlier and, like many others, eventually grew bored, and the episode uses that premise to bring him back, opening with a phone call while Alex is on a mountaintop.
Lecharpy also said that finding original stories for the series has become difficult after eleven seasons, and that she was pleased Le Bihan brought the initial idea. She said she had no other projects to announce at this time.
The episode airs Tuesday, November 3, 2026 at 9:10 p.m. on France 3 and is available free on streaming and replay via France.tv.
