French Alternative to 'Sherlock': A Detective in Which the Hero Talks with Ghosts

The main character of the series Baltaazar. Photo: screenshot from a video, News.LIVE

If you like the series Sherlock and Lucifer, try watching the French series Balthazar (Balthazar). Its main character is a talented medical examiner who annoys his colleagues with his behavior, yet notices details important for investigations. And he also talks to the dead, imagining they can tell him about their own deaths.

News.LIVE will tell you what the series Baltaazar is about.

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Rafael Baltaazar knows almost everything about the human body. He can reconstruct a crime scene from traces that other experts might miss, and find answers where the investigation has hit a dead end. Yet working with him is not easy: Rafael is overconfident, loves provoking people and pays little heed to official rules.

His partner becomes Captain of Police Elena Bah. She is used to taking responsibility for her decisions, maintaining order, and controlling the team’s work. Baltaazar behaves as if no rules apply to him. Elena has to put up with his antics, because the forensic scientist’s talent more than once helps to lead to the killer.

Their quarrels are one of the most interesting parts of the series. Elena does not intend to excitedly watch Rafael every time he shows his insight. She can put him in his place, oppose him, or remind him that the investigation does not revolve around one person.

How Baltaazar talks to the dead

Rafael has an unusual skill: he sees the dead and talks to them. In the morgue, the victims seem to come back to life, comment on events, and help him mentally reconstruct the circumstances of their own deaths. This is not classic mysticism where the hero receives supernatural hints. Rather, the audience is shown how his imagination works as he pieces together details of the case.

This technique distinguishes Baltaazar from ordinary police procedural dramas. True, not every investigation grips the viewer equally, and the main character’s personal experiences sometimes push the crime story to the background.

Behind Rafael’s outward swagger lies a person who has suffered a heavy loss and cannot simply leave the past behind. Therefore his jokes and provocations are not only a way to entertain the viewer. They reveal the character of a man who does not always know how to cope with his own emotions.

How many seasons does Baltaazar have

The French crime series has five seasons and 38 episodes. The story is finished, so you can watch it without fear that new episodes will be left unknown for years. Baltaazar will suit those who are interested not only in murder mysteries but also in characters with complex personalities.

Earlier we wrote about six cult detective series with IMDb ratings 8+ . The list includes Dexter, The Mentalist, and four more projects with protagonists whose watchability rivals the investigations themselves.

News.LIVE also reported why British crime fans should consider the series Winter, which has only six episodes. Forensic expert Ethan Winter helps the police solve difficult crimes, but a personal tragedy does not let him rest: for years the man tries to uncover the truth about the death of a close person.