THE UNKNOWN TF1. TF1 broadcast “Tous Inconnus” with Bernard Campan, Didier Bourdon and Pascal Légitimus this Monday, November 14, 2022. Can we hope for a return from the trio with new sketches or films?
[Mis à jour le 14 novembre 2022 à 22h57] They are back on the small screen! The Unknowns occupied your television evening, this Monday, November 14, 2022, almost thirty years after their first television successes. Bernard Campan, Pascal Legitimus and Didier Bourdon were in the spotlight in the fiction “Tous Inconnus” broadcast on TF1 from 9:10 p.m. The trio of comedians find themselves in a parallel reality in which the Unknowns never existed. But other artists, like Elie Semoun or Pierre Palmade, resume their sketches that have become cults.
Does this emission in the form of homage announce the reformation of the Inconnus? According BFM-TV, Didier Bourdon, Bernard Campan and Pascal Légitimus do not plan to return to television to perform new sketches. TF1 would however consider broadcasting a documentary on the trio of comedians, while a second issue of “All Unknowns” could see the light of day “if this first program meets its audience. If a return to television is not planned, Didier Bourdon and Pascal Légitimus have expressed their desire to go back on stage. For Bernard Campan however, who believes that “it would be too much of a headache”, it is out of the question. And the cinema? In June 2022, Didier Bourdon revealed that there was “an idea” for a third episode of “The Three Brothers”, which would be renamed “The Three Grandfathers”. “It’s just an idea like that, in the air”, however specified the actor with BFM TV, nothing has yet been formalized.
As for the scene, a return of the Unknowns seems more than unlikely. In an interview given by the three actors to the Télé-loisirs site, Bernard Campan explained that he was not comfortable with this idea: “It’s me who is holding back the idea. I took a lot of pleasure to make this common thread for the show, but to go back on stage, I do not prefer. At best, we would say: “It’s as good as at the time! But me, I want to do better…”
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Les Inconnus was formed in the early 1980s. The various members, Didier Bourdon, Bernard Campan, Pascal Légitimus but also Smaïn and Seymour Brussel, meet in café-théâtres or castings, but mostly hang out on the show. Le Théâtre de Bouvard” then on Antenne 2. When the show ended, they decided to continue their career together and created “Les Cinq” in 1984.
Originally, Smaïn and Seymour Brussel were part of the Unknowns. With Bernard Campan, Didier Bourdon and Pascal Légitimus, they formed “The Five” in 1984. The following year, they released their first film, “The telephone always rings twice”, which was a commercial failure. Smaïn then decides to leave the group, thinking that this comedy troupe has no future. Didier Bourdon, Bernard Campan, Pascal Légitimus and Seymour Brussel then form a new group, “Les Cat Car and Co” and pursue a career as comedians and musicians. The group then ended up renaming itself “Les Inconnus” and acquired a start of notoriety thanks to the program “Les Inconnus de l’après-midi” on Europe 1. In 1988, Seymour Brussel decided to devote himself to a career as a bioenergetician and osteopath and in turn left the band.
Les Inconnus made the heyday of stage and television in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1995, “Les Trois frères” was also a success in the cinema. But from this date, the trio of comedians no longer occurs. Indeed, they encounter contractual problems with their former manager, Paul Lederman. The latter owns the rights to their stage name and prohibits them from performing together. This signals the end for the Unknowns. The dispute was only settled in 2001, which allowed Bernard Campan, Pascal Légitimus and Didier Bourdon to reform for “Les Rois Mages”. Subsequently, each member leads his career on his side, before meeting for “The three brothers: the return” in 2014. They also reform on stage for an appearance at Les Enfoirés in 2019.
The hunters, Télémagouilles, Isabelle has blue eyes… Les Inconnus made many sketches on stage or on television in the 1990s that have become cult today. But where to see them? A selection is available on the Youtube channel “Les Inconnus”, while several DVDs featuring their shows and sketches are available for sale. Most are found in the DVD box “Ze Inconnus Story – The complete, the best bôcoup”, available on most merchant sites.
Les Inconnus have stopped performing on stage or on television since the late 1990s. Each member has pursued a solo career on their own. However, they met at the cinema in “The three brothers: the return” in 2014, before reappearing on the Bordeaux stage on the occasion of the Enfoirés concert in 2019. On November 14, 2022, Pascal Légitimus, Didier Bourdon and Bernard Campan are in the spotlight in a TF1 fiction titled “All Unknowns”, in which other artists perform their greatest sketches. If the public is there, a sequel is not excluded.