It’s no secret: series like Commandant Saint-Barth and Death in Paradise are often not masterpieces of television. Critics regularly call them cliché, formulaic, or visually pretty but narratively thin. So why do these shows keep being produced—and why do audiences keep watching?
1. 📊 Low-Risk, High-Comfort Programming
These series fall into a category that TV executives love: “low intensity, high comfort” content. They’re inexpensive to write (procedural formats), modular to produce (same sets, same beats), and easy to sell internationally.
Even when budgets tighten—as many European broadcasters are now experiencing—these shows are resilient. They can weather actor changes, writing mediocrity, or even a drop in ratings, because:
- They rely on beautiful scenery as much as plot.
- They fill early evening slots perfect for multi-generational viewing.
- They can be repeated endlessly and dubbed into multiple languages.
- They’re exportable: Death in Paradise is sold to 230+ territories.
They’re not prestige television. But they’re functional, television as a service.
2. 🏖️ Why Audiences Watch Anyway
Even if the stories are thin or the acting uneven, viewers return for:
- Escapism: The sun, the sea, the slow pace—these shows are Caribbean postcards.
- Routine: One crime, one detective, one resolution. That predictability is emotionally safe.
- “Tourism TV”: For many, watching Death in Paradise or Commandant Saint-Barth is like a guilt-free digital vacation.
This is particularly true for urban, European viewers, especially during winter. Watching an English detective sweat in a linen suit while you’re under a blanket in Paris or Manchester? It hits a soothing nerve.
3. 🇬🇧 British vs. 🇫🇷 French Reception: A Key Difference
Here’s where things get interesting:
- For British viewers, Death in Paradise is a fantasy. The island of Saint Marie doesn’t exist, and most characters are Brits “posted” there. It’s a colonial comedy of manners, disguised as a crime drama. You never quite believe it’s real.
- For French viewers, both Commandant Saint-Barth and Tropiques Criminels hit closer to home. These are set in real or almost-real French territories. In the case of Tropiques Criminels, it’s Martinique—with local actors, actual locations, and a darker, more grounded tone. There’s less exoticism and more reality.
This means Commandant Saint-Barth, despite being French, behaves more like Death in Paradise: it invents an island, caricatures local life, and distances itself from real Caribbean complexity. In contrast, Tropiques Criminels tries to reflect actual Martinican society—its tensions, history, and diversity—within a more serious tone.
4. 🗺️ The Problem of Fictional Islands: Saint Marie, “Saint-Barth”, and the Syldavias of TV
When a show invents an island—like Saint Marie or the fake island in Commandant Saint-Barth—it usually does so for one of two reasons:
- To avoid political complexity: If there’s no real country, there’s no need to represent real cultural or historical nuance.
- To allow cliché: Invented places allow TV writers to paint with broad strokes. You can use “the Caribbean” as an aesthetic without responsibility.
This is a bit like the old Tintin trick: inventing “Syldavia” to tell geopolitical stories without consequences. But in 2025, this can feel lazy or evasive, especially when real islands with rich, complex cultures (like Guadeloupe or Martinique) are right there—and, in fact, doing the work of doubling as these fantasy places.
🎭 The Future: Can These Series Evolve?
Series like Tropiques Criminels may show a path forward: tropical, yes—but also rooted in real locations, local talent, and contemporary issues. Still entertaining, still scenic, but less disconnected from the places they portray.
Meanwhile, Death in Paradise and Commandant Saint-Barth continue to serve a different function: escapist comfort TV with a Caribbean glow filter.
But for audiences familiar with Saint-Barthélemy, it’s hard not to notice when a show tries to use your island’s name—or your region’s beauty—without telling your story.
