Samuel (animated series)

At the beginning of the series, Samuel is a ten-year-old boy who has started writing a diary to express his worries. Most of the stories he tells are related to the end of childhood and the beginning of adolescence, including his relationships with friends, the transition from primary to secondary school, his insecurities, and his first romantic feelings toward Julia, a classmate.^[2][3]

The story is set in the 2000s and ends when Samuel has filled all the pages of his diary, just one day before his eleventh birthday.^[2][3]

Samuel is a series written, directed, and voiced by Émilie Tronche. The production was carried out jointly between France and Spain, handled respectively by the studios Les Valseurs and Pikkukala.

After graduating from the Animation School of Angoulême and making a short film for France Télévisions in 2020, Tronche began posting animations on social media exploring adolescent concerns, which caught the attention of Les Valseurs.^[4] In September 2021, it was confirmed that the project would be developed into an animated series commissioned by Arte France.^[5][6]

The Spanish–Finnish studio Pikkukala also joined the production, bringing experience from previous TV series such as My Real Neighbors and Stinky Dog. Public broadcasters RTVE and Televisió de Catalunya (3Cat) also participated in the project.^[7][8] The animation in Samuel is 2D and minimalist, with a quick sketch-like black-and-white line style that, according to the creator, aims to "convey emotion, to say what I wanted with very little," creating an intimate and spontaneous atmosphere.^[4][9] The animation is produced at a rate of twelve drawings per second.^[4][7] Tronche voices all characters in the French version; each episode is narrated from Samuel's point of view, except for one—"The Letters"—which is centered on his friend Berenice. Another key feature of the series is the use of music, with songs that reinforce the message of each episode, and dance as a form of physical expression.^[9]

Samuel follows a transmedia storytelling approach aimed at a teenage audience, allowing it to be followed both on linear TV and social media. On one hand, 21 television episodes were created, each four minutes long and in 16:9 format. On the other, a separate version was released consisting of 20 vertical one-minute videos for TikTok and Instagram, which complement the plot and place more emphasis on music.^[10] Initially, the series was conceived as a digital-only project, but both RTVE and 3Cat requested a television version to air on their respective channels.^[10] The production received funding from the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC) and the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO).

After its official presentation at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Samuel premiered in March 2024 on the networks of the three media groups involved in the production: in French on Arte,^[11] in Spanish on RTVE—Clan and RTVE Play—,^[2] and in Catalan on 3Cat and SX3.^[3] In 2025, Netflix acquired the international broadcasting rights for release on February 5, 2026.^[12][13]

Émilie Tronche voices all the characters in the original French version.^[1] The Spanish and Catalan dubs are both performed by actress Estel Tort, under the direction of Aleix Estadella.^[14]