Realism, which has come in various forms throughout history, has made a new comeback with French detective series. On what is this marketing promise of TV channels based and what is TV viewers' symbolic gain likely to be? The first answer is obtained by comparing each channel's definition of realism, in their discourse, and by analysing their programmes. It emerges that this supposed imitation is intended less to make viewers' familiar with a world (like that of Zola), in other words, to inform them, th n to confirm their daily preoccupations. Above all, it facilitates the accessibility of the imaginary world of fiction. An analysis of these series shows, secondly, that the difference between new and traditional series lies essentially in an opposition between two mimetic modes: series with a low mimetic mode (with group-heroes who are equal to other human beings, e.g. a police station) and series with a high mimetic mode (with heroes who are superior to other humans). These two modes, with different relations to time and space, correspond to different programming strategies: exemplum, fabula and feint. Some detective series have maintained, in the world of fiction, the everyday nature of reality shows, without however demolishing the hero's appeal of series with a high mimetic mode, which still have a bright future.