A bit of Franju in the seventies perhaps, withLHomme Sans Visage….

Writer and director Fabrice Gobert agrees, Its not a very developed genre in French television.

Perhaps its a question of culture.

A fantastic soap says Benjo.

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IfThe Returnedhas no predecessors in French television, its peers are to be found elsewhere.

Benjo sees parallels between her show and BBC Threes sensitive zombie dramaIn the Flesh.

What Dominic Mitchell does with his zombies inIn the Fleshis quite comparable.

UK audiences this Sunday shouldnt tune in toThe Returnedexpecting George Romero-style gore.

Personally, I really like Romeros films, says Gobert but theyre definitely very different from our series.

The figure of the zombie is mentioned in ours, but by the characters themselves.

The resurrection of Christ is also brought up.

Those are our characters only two reference points in terms of the dead returning: Jesus and zombies!

Benjo is the first to admit that French television has lagged behind the US in terms of quality drama.

In the past, shes bemoaned the lack of French equivalents to the likes ofSix Feet UnderorThe West Wing.

Canal Plus and ARTE are the ones who understood that, finally.

Peoples choices are guided by the nature of the project, not the medium itself.

The crew and actors who worked onThe Returnedmade the transition between television and cinema without any snobbery.

According to Gobert, what setsThe Returnedapart from other zombie stories is its intimate focus.

The Returneds dead are individuals then, not a marauding mass.

Theyre not intended, as zombies so often are, as an allegory for something else?

The director, Robin Campillo, didnt want to push the concept far enough.

He wasnt as interested as we were in playing with the genre.

For him, the dead coming back was used as a social and political metaphor.

It works at a much deeper level.

One levelThe Returnedcertainly works on is the visual.

The ShiningandTwin Peakswere also references of course… but not just for me I think!

The key toThe Returneds particular look, says Gobert, was preparation, and acting quickly.

On average, we had about ten minutes to get the shot.

The end result, as youll see this Sunday, is well worth the effort.

I really liked Mogwais work, he tells me, specifically theirZidane: A 21st Century Portraitsoundtrack.

We didnt know them beforehand so we went through their record label.

I sent them a presentation about the project and they were interested.

Their scores were so strong that they became like real characters in the plot.

I wanted to do the same thing withThe Returned.

Mogwai composed the majority of the score after reading the scripts for the first two episodes.

As such, its hard to underestimate their influence on the final series.

Benjo remembers, It was very inspiring to have them compose some of the score before shooting.

Asked how kill the UK adaptation will be to the original, Benjo wasnt able to answer.

Paul Abbott is remaking it, you should ask him those questions.

Gobert too, says there are no plans for him to participate or consult in the foreign adaptations.

Thats the best way I think.

How about series two?

Will there be a third, or fourth?

Cant really answer that yet says Benjo.

Were in the writing process for the second series, and shooting at the beginning of 2014.

How is Gobert finding writing series two?

Were very much enjoying it, and I hope that comes across….

Does Benjo think non-French audiences will have any trouble finding a way in to the series?

The story in itself is universal enough to work quite well in other cultures and languages.

If your themes are universal enough, you dont have to be afraid to be local.

On the contrary, audiences can be curious to see what French culture brings to it.

Based on what weve seen, it’s possible for you to put money on it.

Eight-part series The Returned starts on Sunday the 9thof June at 9pm on Channel 4.

Read our spoiler-free review of episode one,here.