About Astrid et Raphaelle
Astrid et Raphaelle, known simply as Astrid in some markets, is a warm French crime drama from France 2 that pairs two women who could not be more different. Astrid Nielsen is a meticulous archivist in the judicial records department of the Paris police, an autistic woman with an encyclopedic memory and a deep need for order, routine, and clarity. Raphaelle Coste is an impulsive, instinct-driven police captain who charges at every case head first. When the two cross paths over a baffling investigation, an unlikely partnership begins.
Each episode centers on a puzzling case, often one with a seemingly impossible or contradictory set of facts, and the series treats the mystery as a genuine puzzle to be reasoned through rather than a source of shock. Astrid sees the patterns and details that everyone else overlooks, drawing on the vast archive in her mind and on the physical files she guards, while Raphaelle brings energy, empathy, and a willingness to break from procedure. Together they untangle knots that neither could solve alone.
At its heart the show is an odd-couple story built on mutual respect. It portrays neurodivergence with dignity and care, letting Astrid's perspective shape how the audience reads each scene, and it lets the friendship between the two leads grow at its own honest pace. The result is a clean, comforting procedural that balances clever plotting with real tenderness, and it has become one of France 2's most beloved long-running dramas.
