The television series — the best-known aspect of the course — was produced in 1987 by WGBH, Yale University, and Wellesley College, and funded by Annenberg/CPB, and since then, has been aired frequently on PBS in the United States, developing a cult following[1] for its romantic comedy segments interspersed among grammar and vocabulary lessons.

[2][3] During the Second World War, Yale Professor Emeritus of Romance Languages Jean Boorsch, had produced for the American ASTP (Army Specialized Training Program) and the Navy V-12s (V-12 Navy College Training Program) an approach to oral French learning.

Between 1960 and 1961, Boorsch and Capretz worked on an oral teaching method (never published) in which they retained the names of these two characters.

[8] Some also objected to camera angles focusing on Mireille's legs, or breasts when she isn't wearing a bra.

To teach French effectively, he said, "you have to make the students observe the language being used by native speakers, in real situations.