Transporter: The Series Information

Transporter: The Series is an English-language French-Canadian action-adventure television series, based on the Transporter film series created by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It is co-produced by the French Atlantique Productions and the Canadian boutique entertainment company QVF Inc. in association with broadcast partners M6, RTL, The Movie Network, Movie Central and HBO/Cinemax.

The series follows the events and concept of the film trilogy, continuing adventures of Frank Martin, a professional freelance courier driver for hire who will deliver anything, anywhere " no questions asked " for the right price, and lives by three, unbreakable rules... which he constantly breaks. Chris Vance takes over the role of Frank from Jason Statham and is joined by Andrea Osvárt, who plays the leading female role in the series, starring as a former CIA agent and love interest for Frank, who organizes his missions, and François Berléand, the only returning actor from the film series, who reprises his role as Inspector Tarconi.

Twelve episodes were ordered for 2012 with an overall budget of $40.000.000, or "?30.000.000. The show premiered that year on October 11 in Germany on RTL, and on December 6 in France on M6. The Canadian premiere was on January 4, 2013 on HBO Canada and Super "?cran 1 (with the first episode available online from December 18, 2012). The broadcast started in India on 25th January 2013 on Sony PIX channel.

Plot

Frank Martin is the Transporter. He transports anything, anywhere, for anyone. A former British SAS operative, he is highly trained in driving, combat and survival skills. A man of determination and integrity he always completes his missions and abides by three very specific rules:

1. "Never change the deal"
2. "No names"
3. "Never open the package"

Whatever happens, Frank always tries to follow the rules. But things do not always go to plan.

Cast

• Chris Vance as Frank Martin, the protagonist, a professional freelance courier driver for hire. A former SAS and Special Forces operative, Frank rents his "transporter" services without asking any questions, to whoever is willing to pay his price. His code of conduct is very strict, his precision driving and his combat skills allow him to survive the most dangerous criminals throughout his missions. Very secretive, Frank trusts only a handful of people: his agent Carla, his mechanic Dieter, and a French police inspector named Tarconi. But his circle of friends will grow with the arrival of Juliette, a mysterious, sexy woman who's very interested in his work? Be it to deliver a package, or dine with a pretty lady (which happens quite often), Frank is always on time, impeccably dressed.
• François Berléand as Inspector Tarconi, Frank's reluctant police officer friend. Stationed in Nice, Tarconi has in the past investigated Frank. Now friends, Tarconi takes care of his house in Cap Roux when Frank's on a mission. Frank turns to him when he needs an official police intervention, but always in a way that Tarconi can deny any involvement with the Transporter. He maintains his status as an officer of the law but allows Frank to bend the rules somewhat... Simply because he trusts him and knows that in the end, Frank will always make the right choice.
• Andrea Osvárt as Carla Valeri, a former CIA agent and now one of Frank's closest allies. A beautiful computer expert, she takes care of Frank's missions by negotiating with clients and providing him with all the information he needs, however urgent, from her office in Nice.
• Delphine Chanéac as Juliette Dubois, a DCRI agent investigating the Transporter network sprawling across Europe, while posing as Frank's beautiful and romantic neighbor. She's an intelligent woman torn between her sense of duty and her growing attraction for Frank. Earlier on in the project, the character was a reporter named Olivia.
• Charly Hübner as Dieter Hausmann, a technology expert who helps Frank with his car. He is Frank's confidant and an unparalleled mechanic who repairs and modifies his Audi at will. Whether Frank needs special tires, suspensions or fake plates, Dieter is always there when Frank needs him. But he also has his own problems... most often linked to his sentimental life.

Production

The pilot was directed by long-time Lost director Stephen Williams. Other directors working on the show include Bruce McDonald (Degrassi: The Next Generation, Queer as Folk) and Andy Mikita, known for working on several shows including Stargate Universe and SyFy's Sanctuary. The only writer who has been confirmed so far is Carl Binder, also a Stargate Universe alumnus.

Originally Canadian TV veterans Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie known for their work on Stargate Universe served as show runners, and co-wrote the pilot. According to The Hollywood Reporter they were replaced after two episodes by British director Steve Shill (Dexter, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Tudors) and Canadian veteran supervising producer Karen Wookey (Andromeda, Mutant X). However, Shill left the project in January 2012 without an immediate successor in place.

Shooting locations included Paris, Berlin, and Nice, however the majority of the filming was done in Toronto. In October 2011, filming on the series was halted after Chris Vance was injured in an on-set accident. The remaining scenes are supposed to be shot in Toronto during the spring of 2012. The show was shot with Arri Alexa, Canon C300 and GoPro cameras.

Broadcast

The series started airing out-of-order on RTL in Germany on October 11, 2012 at a pace of one weekly episode in prime time on Thursays with a TV-12 rating. The show's run in the country concluded on December 20, leaving two episodes unaired.

In France the show started on December 6, 2012 on M6, also in prime time on Thursdays, but with a TV-10 rating and at an initial pace of three episodes per night for two weeks, followed by a "two new episodes plus one rerun" per night pace after a week-long hiatus, and concluded on January 10, 2013. Viewers were given the choice between watching the show in dubbed French or in its original English with optional subtitles, thanks to M6's dual audio streams.

Transporter started airing on HBO Canada and Super "?cran 1 (in dubbed French) on January 4, 2013 with a special two hour premiere comprising the episodes Trojan Horsepower and Payback, after which one episode will be broadcast weekly, Fridays at 9 PM. Prior to that, the episode Trojan Horsepower was available to watch for free on HBO Canada's website and various Canadians streaming services starting December 18, 2012.

The show started airing in Norway, January 1, 2013 on TV 2 Zebra.

In the Middle East the show started on March 12, 2013 on FX (TV channel)

Episode order & Alternate versions

Confusingly, RTL in Germany, M6 in France and HBO Canada/Super "?cran 1 in Canada all have or plan to air the series in a different episode order, reflected in the following chart.

Episode	Canadian order	French order	German order
The General's Daughter	3	1	1
Trojan Horsepower	1	2	7
Harvest	4	3	2
Dead Drop	5	4	4
Sharks	8	5	6
12 Hours	11	6	12
City of Love	9	7	9
Switch	10	8	3
Hot Ice	6	9	8
Give the Guy a Hand	7	10	11
Cherchez La Femme	12	11	10
Payback	2	12	5

It is unclear at this point what the "proper", intended order for the episodes is. The German home video release presents the episodes as they were broadcast on RTL, adding the two unaired episodes (Give the Guy a Hand and 12 Hours) as episodes 11 and 12 respectively. It is unknown what order the forthcoming French and potential North American home video releases will reflect. It is however certain that unlike other shows, production order should not be followed, as Trojan Horsepower was the last episode to be shot yet features the first meeting between Frank and Juliette, two characters who interact in other episodes, and is also the episode where Frank first sees the red Audi R8 which appears in most later episodes. Trojan Horsepower served as the pilot episode in Canada, the second episode in France and the seventh in Germany. Those two countries both used The General's Daughter as the pilot episode, which had in fact been announced in the media as the pilot when production started. Based on the chronology of events, the Canadian release most likely carries the correct order of episodes. This is further supported by the fact that Flemish channel 2BE also airs the episodes according to the Canadian order.

In addition, at least some episodes reportedly have three different edits depending on the country of broadcast.

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Originally aired		DVD & Blu-ray release date
					Region 2
			Season premiere	Season finale	Germany	France
	1	12		N/A

Episodes

The series as so far been presented in a different episode order on every channel it has aired (see above). It first aired in Germany, however channel RTL left two episodes unaired. Therefore the episodes are presented here in the order they are being broadcast in France on M6. HBO Canada has also started to air the show in another order entirely.

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No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	German air date	French air date	Canadian air date	Production code	Viewers/Share (France)
ShortSummary = After completing an eventful drop in Marseille, Frank is sent to Berlin, where he is assigned to transport Delia Weigert (Rachel Skarsten), a rich young socialite, to a safe house. Her father, a former influential general in the army (Barry Flatman), has sold off some of his insider military knowledge and Delia is now in grave danger with a German crime lord (Uwe Ochsenknecht) threatening to kidnap her. With the enemy closing in, Frank must get Delia on a flight back to America, but a sudden betrayal places Delia in deadly jeopardy, and Frank must use all his skills to save her.	LineColor = 000000 }} </ref>	ShortSummary = On a mission in Philadelphia, Frank finds out his package is Jack Perkins, his old C.I.A. instructor. The blind man is trying to prove his innocence, while an agency mole is attempting to frame him for leaking confidential information and getting fellow agents unmasked. To save his and his client's lives, Frank has only one solution: find a USB key containing evidence that can clear Jack's name and reveal the real mole's identity...	LineColor = 000000 }} </ref>	ShortSummary = Frank is hired to bring a package from the south of France to Paris, which alerts the dogs at a vehicle checkpoint. After being chased by the police and reaching the agreed transfer point, he realizes the package he's delivered is a bomb meant for a planned terrorist attack on the French capital. Frank must rush to find and stop Gassam (RJ Parrish), the gang leader who'll stop at nothing to avenge his brother, accidentally killed during an identity check. After an electric first encounter, Frank can count on Mauga (Athena Karkanis), Gassam's sister, who wants to stop her brother from committing the irreparable while Carla uses her old connections with the French secret service to protect him. The hunt for the bomb begins.	LineColor = 000000 }} </ref>	ShortSummary = In Toronto, Frank is asked to pick up a package containing a data stick holding sensitive content implicating a senior industrialist in the African blood diamond trade from a high-security bank vault and bring it to a specific address. Immediately upon leaving the hall he is attacked by a hit squad posing as security guards and finds himself locked inside the building. To make matters worse, an attractive woman security officer (Katheryn Winnick) falsely accuses him of being responsible for the death of her colleague, who was caught in the firefight and in order to prevent Frank's escape, she handcuffs him to herself - difficult conditions when you have a hit squad on your tail...	LineColor = 000000 }} </ref>	ShortSummary = Jet (Chelsea Hobbs), rebellious, young, internationally known and antisocial hacker is Frank's latest package. He delivers her to a trader who speculated with Mafia money and needs her help to reacquire it in the quickest way possible and get his accounts back in order. However the Mafia isn't the only party interested in the young lady, as Frank finds out once his mission his accomplished and he's faced with a very difficult decision: find the hacker again or Carla, who's just been kidnapped, will be killed. Frank discovers that the hacker, who's being accused of spying, actually found evidence of corruption in the DCRI with her best friend, who is now dead in their apartment. Frank enlists Tarconi and Juliette to help him save Carla and the young hacker. But the DCRI proves itself to be a tough adversary...	LineColor = 000000 }}