Versailles (TV series)

Versailles
Series title faded in over an image of Versailles
Genre Biography, drama, history
Created by
Written by
  • Simon Mirren
  • David Wolstencroft
  • Andrew Bampfield
  • Sasha Hails
Directed by
Starring
Opening theme "Outro" – M83
Composer(s) Michel Corriveau Eduardo Noya Schreus
Country of origin
  • Canada
  • France
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Original language(s)
  • English
  • French
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 10
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s)
  • Aude Albano
  • Claude Albouze
  • Ian Whitehead
Location(s)
  • France
  • Canada
Cinematography
  • Pierre-Yves Bastard
Editor(s)
  • Mike Fromentin
  • Sarah Anderson
  • Jean-François Elie
Running time 50-55 minutes approx
Production company(s)
Budget 27 million euros
Release
Original network
Picture format
First shown in France
Original release 16 November 2015 (2015-11-16) – present
External links
Official website

Versailles is a British-American-Franco-Canadian television series set during the construction of Versailles Palace during the reign of Louis XIV that premiered on November 16, 2015 on Canal+ in France and Super Channel in Canada, in June 2016 on BBC2 in Britain, and on October 1, 2016 on Ovation in the U.S. A second season was already ordered ahead of the premiere.[1] Filming for the second season began in January 2016 and its story will take place four years after that of the first season. On the 14th September 2016 producer Claude Chelli confirmed that Versailles has been renewed for a third season, which will begin filming in April 2017.[2]

The first season of Versailles received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with a Metacritic rating of 55 out of 100 based on 6 reviews.[3] It holds a 88 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 6.1 out of 10, based on 8 reviews.[4]

A second season was announced by BBC and will return on 2017.[5]

At some point after the first season concluded Super Channel lost the Canadian broadcast rights to the series.[6] Subsequently The Movie Network picked up the Canadian rights to the series and began airing reruns of season 1.[7]

Synopsis

Versailles, 1667. Haunted by the trauma of the Fronde as the nobles of his court begin to rebel against the monarchy, 28-year-old Louis XIV (George Blagden), in a Machiavellian political move, decides to make the nobility submit by imposing a definite move of the court from Paris to Versailles, his father's former hunting lodge. Trapped by their king's "invitation", the nobles of Paris gradually come to see the castle as a gilded prison and soon even the most humble courtiers of the king begin to show their viciousness as the alcoves of secrets, politics and war are maneuvered through, revealing Versailles in all its glory and brutality.

Cast

Character Actor
Louis XIV George Blagden
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans Alexander Vlahos
Maria Theresa of Spain Elisa Lasowski
Alexandre Bontemps Stuart Bowman
Fabien Marchal Tygh Runyan
Anne of Austria Dominique Blanc
Henrietta of England Noémie Schmidt
Chevalier de Lorraine Evan Williams
Béatrice, Madame de Clermont Amira Casar
Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan Anna Brewster
Louise de La Vallière Sarah Winter
Sophie Maddison Jaizani
Montcourt Anatole Taubman
Cassel Pip Torrens
Claudine Lizzie Brocheré
Jean-Baptiste Colbert Steve Cumyn
François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois Joe Sheridan
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Geoffrey Bateman
André Le Nôtre Thierry Harcourt

Series

Series Episodes Series premiere (France) Series finale
Series 1 10 16 November 2015 14 December 2015

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS airdateUS viewers
(millions)
1"Welcome to Versailles"TBATBA16 November 20151 October 20160.557[8]
2"I am the State"TBATBA16 November 20151 October 20160.557[8]
3"Mirror for Princes"TBATBA23 November 20158 October 2016N/A
4"The Road"TBATBA23 November 201515 October 2016N/A
5"Bow to Your King"TBATBA30 November 201522 October 2016N/A
6"Invalides"TBATBA30 November 201529 October 2016N/A
7"Revelations"TBATBA7 December 20155 November 2016N/A
8"Diplomacy"TBATBA7 December 201512 November 20160.143[9]
9"Etiquette"TBATBA14 December 201519 November 20160.173[10]
10"Bring the Flowers Here"TBATBA14 December 201519 November 20160.139[10]

International broadcast

Country TV channel
 France Canal+
 Spain Canal+
 Portugal RTP1
 Canada Super Channel
 Quebec Super Écran
 United Kingdom BBC Two
 Germany Sky Germany
 Denmark C More
 Sweden C More
 Norway C More
 Finland C More
 Poland Canal+
 Bulgaria bTV
 Belgium VRT/ RTBF
 New Zealand SOHO SKY TV
 Australia SBS
 United States Ovation
 Venezuela DIRECTv

[11][12]

Filming locations

In addition to the Palace of Versailles, many other castles were filmed for the depiction of the unfinished Versailles, including:

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.