LT-21 on OCS: a new dystopia “inspired by the crisis and confinements”

This is a pandemic that no one saw coming. An unstoppable virus, which will contaminate France and the world with this particularity: infected patients develop total biographical amnesia. The creator, Mélisa Godet, tells us how she imagined LT-21, her dystopia anchored in reality, worn by Léonie Simaga and Arnaud Valois.

Was it Covid that inspired this series on a pandemic?
Mélisa Godet : It all started with a call for projects from the OCS signature fund, in 2020. We had to make a genre series in 26-minute format revolving around the theme of amnesia. We were at the moment when the virus was starting to arrive in Wuhan. And one night I had a dream where I mixed everything up. I imagined this very contagious virus arriving from China, but which would erase memories. The Covid then fueled the writing…

In what way?
I was inspired by the crisis, the confinements and it showed me how far it can go to try to stop an epidemic of this order. I fed off people’s concerns during that moment. We could read on the networks a form of panic, with army trucks on the ring road. It could have escalated and that’s where it interests me. We project ourselves and enter into dystopia. Afterwards, our imaginations have been very armed since then, with regard to pandemics. We know what’s happening, how it works… So I moved on quite quickly, in writing, to the start of the epidemic as such. We talk about the lack of equipment, the lack of means, the lack of preparation. And then the virologists who are looking for a vaccine… But quite quickly, I wanted to put a distance from Covid, by saying that the virus LT-21 would not cause a single death. We are no longer in a symbolic death.

Is total amnesia, caused by patients affected by this virus, a form of death?
Yes, or rebirth. I wanted to work on this notion. The patients in the series will never again be the people they once were. But it is also a way to ask ourselves to what extent we can each reinvent ourselves. Or reinvent the world around. One of the characters also carries this message: if we let humanity lose its memory, isn’t it time to start all over again, from scratch, making fewer mistakes?

LT-21 is a disaster series that primarily focuses on humans…
We are not at all in the post-apocalyptic. If only for budgetary reasons. We are no longer in the pre-apocalyptic, that is to say at that moment when things begin to degenerate. And what interests me is being on a level with the characters. There’s a tragedy bigger than them happening. But what does that mean for them? From the writing, we know that resources will be limited. Filming the outside world and cities that are supposed to be confined is complicated. So I focused the story on two main settings: this hospital, which becomes a quarantine center, in isolation, from which no one leaves. And this slightly bizarre island, where intellectuals are safe from the virus, to continue research.

Where did you shoot the sequences in this island military bunker?
We filmed at Fort Penthièvre, located at the entrance to the Quiberon peninsula in Brittany. It is military land, which serves as a commando training location. The army welcomed us for the filming and we had to live with a few soldiers who were in training… Which was also practical for basic questions about the corporation. Like: when do we put on the beret? Or the helmet? We had technical advisors available.

The end of season 1 is open. Are you considering doing a season 2?
I would love to do a sequel. We end with a hope, in the form of a question. The title of the last episode is: “Do better” and that’s what I would like to explore. Could we really do better if the virus spreads and humanity starts from scratch? This is the more philosophical point of view underlying the story and I would like to explore that a little more, if we make a sequel.

LT-21, season 1 in 8 episodes of 26 minutes, to watch on OCS from October 12, 2023.