Recently, people on social media couldn't stop talking about "the French show with the good lighting." The phrase spread quickly because clips made every guest look impossibly radiant.
The show in question, Quotidien, is indeed a French talk show. It recently saw a resurgence in memes after Timothée Chalamet made an appearance. His interview circulated on social media because he seemed to glow in the studio lights.
What is "the French show with the good lighting"?
Quotidien is a weekday evening talk show on French television with an hour runtime. It began in 2016 with a simple format hosted and produced by Yann Barthès. It covers everything from politics to culture and social issues, and ends with a segment with a special guest.
Typically, that guest is from France, however, international stars appear often enough, much like on late-night shows in the U.S. Over the years, the show hosted Harry Styles, Martin Scorsese, Cynthia Erivo, Dwayne Johnson, and other major Hollywood actors.
However, the focus Quotidien received was less about the content of the interviews, and more about the lighting casting a beautiful glow on all the guests.
Why Timothée Chalamet made the meme explode
Chalamet’s recent appearance on the show in mid-February brought the joke back into social media's consciousness. During the interview, he discussed his career and his new movie, Marty Supreme, but people were focused, instead, on how radiant his skin looked.
Online, the lighting became the real star. Redditor u/bubblybean7 noted on a post about Chalamet, "god didn’t make me famous because then i’d have to go on this show to do press and i’d be insufferable about it."
@harryscowgirI asked, "how do i get a ring light with same lighting as the french show with good lighting?"
Other people sent requests out into the void for their favorite stars to be brought onto the show, such as Connor Storrie from Heated Rivalry. (Bonus, while he isn't French, he is fluent and would happily be interviewed in the language!)
Swedish singer-songwriter Zara Larsson even got in on the joke. She posted a video posing for the camera, saying, "I wanna be on the French show with the good lighting!!"
One person on X, @ianamurray, asked a very relevant question that many people were wondering. They tweeted, "has the host of quotidien ever talked about how people online call it the french show with good lighting."
@mathieuge replied, "Yes, they talked about it briefly 2 days ago and explained that it was thanks to the table, the host joked because nobody talks about the content of his interviews."
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