Spiral (French: Engrenages, meaning "inescapable series of events") is a French television police procedural and legal drama series comprising eight seasons, following the work and the private lives of police officers, lawyers, and judges at the Palais de Justice in Paris. It was created by Alexandra Clert for the TV production company Son et Lumière.
The first series of eight episodes premiered on Canal+ in France in December 2005, followed by broadcast in the UK on BBC Four during in mid-2006. It was the channel's first French-language drama series, attracting firm critical approval and a loyal audience of around 200,000. The second series, also eight episodes, was broadcast in France starting in May 2008. The third series consisted of 12 episodes and was shown from April 2011. Series four, five, six, and seven each consisted of 12 episodes. The fourth series was broadcast in February 2013, the fifth in late 2014, the sixth in 2017, and the seventh series in February 2019. The eighth and final series of ten episodes was broadcast on BBC Four in the UK during January 2021.
Spiral has been an export success, with sales to broadcasters in more than 70 countries, including Australia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, and the UK. Spiral has received wide-ranging critical acclaim throughout its run, and has been nominated for and won several awards.
