Marie Antoinette doesn’t deserve the Bridgerton
woke treatment
The new series produced by Canal+ and the BBC is bad
history and worse entertainment
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ANNE-ELISABETH
MOUTET
1 November
2022 • 8:46pm
Anne-Elisabeth
Moutet
It takes
something of a special effort to outrage the French with the amount of sex in a
British series. But Deborah Davis has managed it with her three-season, 24-part
Marie-Antoinette, a Canal+/BBC production that has just hit the French small
screens, and thrown the nation into a royal tizzy.
Closer to
Bridgerton Does Versailles than to Sofia Coppola’s whimsical 2006 biopic of the
last Queen of the Ancien Régime, which succeeded with singular grace at
retelling history in a contemporary vernacular, the first instalment was
dropped on the nation on Hallowe’en night, possibly by a scheduler with a sense
of humour. Within 24 hours, it’s been called “obscene”, “vulgar”, “aberrant”,
“stupid”, and has sparked demands to reinstate the Gaullist-era script approval
by the curators of Versailles before allowing filming at the palace.
The French
may have guillotined Marie-Antoinette in 1793, but even the French Revolution’s
great historians, many of them communists like the legendary Albert Soboul,
would shudder at sex lessons performed by King Louis XV’s mistress Madame du
Barry on the young Marie-Antoinette, a graphic rape of the princess by her
young husband, the future Louis XVI (a diffident character whose vacillations
against any violence are part of why he never managed to flee France), and
weird scenes including the seduction of his daughter-in-law by King Louis XV,
having managed entry into her apartments by carrying her breakfast on a
platter, like a Soho House waiter.
What’s
fascinating is that, in her time, Marie-Antoinette, whose spending had made her
a hated figure, was accused of affairs with members of both sexes (including
her lady-in-waiting the Princesse de Polignac, who paid for this on the
guillotine) as well as blasphemous practices, including taking part in black
masses. These accusations, made in anonymous pamphlets known as libelles, were
targeted for maximum political damage by adversaries found mostly among Court
factions, not in proto-revolutionary circles.
But what
would be the point of sticking to historical accuracy when you’ve decided to
create an “empowered feminist heroine” spouting woke slogans? Which,
incidentally, is why Marie Antoinette, the series, fails in France, a country
that doesn’t mourn its kings or monarchic regime. We are a country of history
buffs, where Stéphane Bern, the emollient presenter of the prime-time lavish
historical series Secrets d’Histoire, is regularly received at the Elysée by
Emmanuel Macron, and was given an official mission to help preserve French
heritage buildings.
A number of
Paris publishing houses are kept afloat by biographies, archival studies, and
historical novels, ranging from the popular to the erudite, some of which have
remained in print for more than a century. Graphic novels, television series,
and video games use French historical backgrounds that feed on the national
passion, and have managed to keep alive a chronological literacy that more contemporary
academic historical studies have spurned in recent years.
It helps
that France has remained the world’s top tourism destination, with record
numbers achieved post-Covid. Our love for history is not untainted by a
Balzacian sense of our interest: we’re pretty sure that visitors are not coming
to Versailles to look for shades of a French Meghan Markle.
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BBC acquires new ‘Marie Antoinette’ series from makers
of ‘Versailles’
A new historical TV drama about Marie Antoinette will
air on BBC Two and iPlayer in the UK.
https://britishperioddramas.com/news/marie-antoinette-bbc-series-deborah-davis/
Produced by
the team behind Versailles, the eight-part series is created and written by
Oscar-winning screenwriter Deborah Davis, who co-wrote The Favourite.
Titled
simply Marie Antoinette, the show is currently filming in many prestigious
historical French locations, including the Châteaux of Versailles,
Vaux-le-Vicomte, Lésigny, Champs, Voisins, and in the emblematic studios of
Bry-sur-Marne.
The
official synopsis reads: “Marie Antoinette was barely 14 years old when she
left Austria to marry the Dauphin of France.
“Growing
from a stubborn young princess navigating the rules of the French court under
pressure to continue the Bourbon line, to a true fashion icon, she impressed
with her natural charisma, and recreated life in Versailles in her image: free,
independent and feminist ahead of time.
“Even with
rumours underminding her reputation, the notorious figure would defeat the
enemies of the Versailles court with courage and dignity.”
Three
seasons of Versailles aired between 2015 and 2018.
Fabrice de
la Patellière, Head of Drama CANAL+ commented: “The story of Marie Antoinette
is timeless, and her life continues to intrigue and capture the imagination of
contemporary viewers. The scripts for this series are compelling, and we have
the ideal partners to bring the work of Deborah Davis to life. This is set to
be a high-end, decadant drama with epic scale.”
François de
Brugada, CEO of Banijay Studios France added: “Marie Antoinette is one of the
most iconic figures in French history, and her fearless, fascinating life; with
Deborah Davis leading the writing team, will make an undeniably powerful
television series. We are ready to enchant viewers with stunning scenery from
beautiful locations across France, and illustrate this audacious, controversial
character who changed the history of our nation.”
Marie
Antoinette will be played by Emilia Schüle (Ku’damm 56/63).
The cast
also includes Jack Archer (The Bay) as Provence, Jasmine Blackborow (Shadow and
Bone) as Lamballe, Louis Cunningham as Louis XVI, Crystal Shepherd-Cross
(Versailles) as Adelaide, Caroline Piette as Victoire, Nathan Willcocks
(Versailles) as Mercy, and Roxane Duran (Riviera) as Josephine.
A movie
about Marie Antoinette was previously released in 2006, starring Kirsten Dunst.
The new
Marie Antoinette series is set to premiere in the UK on BBC Two and on BBC
iPlayer in 2022.
Sue Deeks,
Head of Programme Acquisition, BBC, commented: “Marie Antoinette possesses an
enduring fascination and Deborah Davis has a very singular vision for her story
– we are truly delighted to be bringing this ambitious project to BBC Two and
iPlayer.”
Deborah
Davis will be joined on the writing team by Louise Ironside (The Split), Avril
E. Russell (All on a Summer’s Day), and Chloë Moss (Run Sister Run).
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Marie
Antoinette is an upcoming French-British historical drama television series
created and written by Deborah Davis, writer of The Favourite. It is based on
the life of the last queen of France before the French Revolution who was 14
years old when she became Dauphine of France upon her marriage to the heir
apparent, Louis-Auguste. The first season of the series is scheduled to
premiere in 2022 and will consist of eight episodes. German actress Emilia
Schüle will play the titular role.
Episodes
No. Title Directed
by Written by Viewers
(millions)
1 "The Slap" Pete Travis TBA TBA
2 "Rival Queens" Pete Travis TBA TBA
3 "Pick a Princess" Pete Travis TBA TBA
4 "Queen of France" Pete Travis TBA TBA
5 "Rebel queen" Geoffrey Enthoven TBA TBA
6 "Deus ex Machina" Geoffrey Enthoven TBA TBA
7 "The Ostrich Bitch" Geoffrey Enthoven TBA TBA
8 "Queen of Hearts" Geoffrey Enthoven TBA TBA
Production
Development
After the
final season of Versailles aired, it was announced Canal+ had commissioned
Deborah Davis to write an eight-part series centred on Marie Antoinette.
Alongside Banijay Studios and CAPA Drama the French production company planned
to create an English language series with the aim to distribute to a wide
international audience in a similar fashion to Versailles.[5] In October 2021,
it was announced that the BBC had pre-bought the series and the British
broadcaster would be part of the production and distribution process.Vogue and
Variety reported the series is being created by an all female writing team and
would offer a "feminist take" on Marie Antoinette's life.
Casting
Casting was
announced in September 2021 with Schüle attached to play the lead role.[8] She
will be joined by an international cast including Louis Cunningham, Jack
Archer, Jasmine Blackborow, Gaia Weiss, James Purefoy, Marthe Keller, Roxane
Duran, Crystal Shepherd-Cross, Caroline Piette, Oscar Lesage, Liah O'Prey,
Jonas Bloquet, Nathan Willcocks, Paul Bandey, Laura Benson and Yoli Fuller.
Filming
In
September 2021 it was announced filming had begun. Variety and Deadline
reported that alongside the studios of Bry-Sur-Marne, filming would take place
at locations that include the Châteaux of Versailles, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Palace
of Fontainebleau, Lésigny, Champs and Voisins.
Release
Marie
Antoinette premiered on the French network Canal+ in October 2022. The
following month the series was distributed through BBC First in Australia and
released on streamers Foxtel and Binge. Banijay also announced PBS had
pre-bought the series with a planned Spring 2023 release. The American premiere
was later confirmed to be March 19th 2023.
The series
will be making its UK debut on BBC Two & iPlayer on 29 December 2022.
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