Versailles (TV series)

Versailles
Created by	Simon Mirren David Wolstencroft
Directed by	Jalil Lespert Christoph Schrewe Thomas Vincent Daniel Roby
Starring	George Blagden Alexander Vlahos Tygh Runyan Stuart Bowman Amira Casar Evan Williams Noémie Schmidt Anna Brewster Sarah Winter
Opening theme	"Outro" – M83
Composer(s)	NOIA Michel Corriveau
Country of origin	Canada France United Kingdom United States
Original language(s)	English French
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	20 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jean Bureau Claude Chelli Anne Thomopoulos Simon Mirren David Wolstencroft Guillaume Thouret Gaspard de Chavagnac
Producer(s)	Ian Whitehead Jean Bureau Aude Albano Claude Chelli Anne Thomopoulos Simon Mirren David Wolstencroft
Location(s)	France Canada
Cinematography	Pierre-Yves Bastard
Editor(s)	Mike Fromentin Sarah Anderson Jean-François Elie
Production company(s)	Capa Drama Incendo Zodiak Fiction Nomad Media
Distributor	Zodiak Rights
Release
Original network	Canal+
Picture format	HDTV 1080i
First shown in	France
Original release	16 November 2015 (2015-11-16) – present
External links
Official website (Canal)	versailles.canalplus.fr
Official Website (BBC)	www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08nf8s0

Versailles is a television series, set during the construction of the Palace of Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV, that premiered on 16 November 2015 on Canal+ in France and on Super Channel in Canada, in May 2016 on BBC2 in Britain, and on 1 October 2016 on Ovation in the U.S.

The first season of Versailles received mixed to positive reviews from critics. It holds a Metacritic rating of 55 out of 100, based on 6 reviews,^[1] and an 88 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 6.1 out of 10, based on 8 reviews.^[2]

A second season was already ordered ahead of the season one premiere.^[3] Filming for the second season began in February 2016; its story took place four years after that of the first season. The second season premiered on 27 March 2017 in France,^[4] and aired from 21 April 2017 in Britain.^[4] At some point after the first season concluded, Super Channel lost the Canadian broadcast rights to the series.^[5] Subsequently, The Movie Network picked up those rights and began airing reruns of the first season.^[6]

On 14 September 2016, producer Claude Chelli confirmed that Versailles had been renewed for a third season, which would begin filming in April 2017.^[7]

On the 11th of May 2017, the official Instagram account of Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte published pictures of the ongoing shoot of the 3rd season.^[8]

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 King Louis XIV of France and Navarre (George Blagden), in a Machiavellian political move, decides to make the nobility submit by imposing a definitive 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

• George Blagden as Louis XIV, King of France
• Alexander Vlahos as Monsieur Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, brother of the king
• Tygh Runyan as Fabien Marchal
• Stuart Bowman as Alexandre Bontemps, valet of the king
• Amira Casar as Béatrice, Madame de Clermont (season 1)
• Evan Williams as Chevalier de Lorraine, lover of the Duke of Orléans
• Noémie Schmidt as Henrietta of England (main: season 1; guest: season 2)
• Anna Brewster as Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan, mistress of the king
• Sarah Winter as Louise de La Vallière (season 1)
• Suzanne Clément as Madame Agathe (season 2)^[9]
• Catherine Walker as Madame Scarron/ Madame de Maintenon (season 2)
• Elisa Lasowski as Marie-Thérèse (main: season 2; recurring: season 1)
• Maddison Jaizani as Sophie (main: season 2; recurring: season 1)
• Jessica Clark (season 2) as Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess of the Palatinate
• Pip Torrens as Cassel (main: season 2; recurring: season 1)
• Harry Hadden-Paton as Gaston (season 2)^[10]
• Greta Scacchi as Madeleine de Foix (season 2)

Recurring

• Lizzie Brocheré as Claudine
• Steve Cumyn as Jean-Baptiste Colbert
• Gilly Gilchrist as Jacques
• Dominique Blanc as Anne of Austria
• Joe Sheridan as François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois
• Geoffrey Bateman as Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
• Thierry Harcourt as André Le Nôtre
• Anatole Taubman as Montcourt
• Alexis Michalik as Louis de Rohan Guémené
• George Webster as William of Orange
• Mark Rendall as Thomas Beaumont
• Ned Dennehy as Father Etienne

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2015)

Season 2 (2017)

Filming locations

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

• The Château de Champs-sur-Marne gardens
• The Château de Janvry
• The Château of Lésigny
• The Château de Maisons-Laffitte (pictured below)
• The Château de Pierrefonds (pictured below) used as the castle preuses room
• The Château de Sceaux
• The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte (pictured below)
• The Château of Vigny
• The commune of Rambouillet

• 
  Modern Versailles, 2007
• 
  Château de Maisons-Laffitte
• 
  Château de Pierrefonds
• 
  Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte

References

External links

• Versailles on IMDb
• "Series Official Website". VersaillesTheSeries.com. Canada; not available outside Canada.