Versailles (TV series)

Versailles
Series title faded in over an image of Versailles
GenreHistorical drama
Created by
Written by
  • Simon Mirren
  • David Wolstencroft
  • Sasha Hails
  • Andrew Bampfield
  • Tim Loane
  • Martha Hillier
  • Steve Bailie
Directed by
Starring
Opening theme"Outro" by M83
Composers
Country of origin
  • Canada
  • France
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Original languages
  • English
  • French
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes30 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Jean Bureau
  • Claude Chelli
  • Anne Thomopoulos
  • Simon Mirren
  • David Wolstencroft
  • Guillaume Thouret
  • Gaspard de Chavagnac
Producers
  • Ian Whitehead
  • Jean Bureau
  • Aude Albano
  • Claude Chelli
  • Anne Thomopoulos
  • Simon Mirren
  • David Wolstencroft
Production locations
  • France
  • Canada
CinematographyPierre-Yves Bastard
Editors
  • Mike Fromentin
  • Sarah Anderson
  • Jean-François Elie
Production companies
Budget30 million €
Original release
Network
Release16 November 2015 (2015-11-16) –
21 May 2018 (2018-05-21)

Versailles is a French/Canadian/British/American historical fiction drama Canal+ original 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 BBC Two in Britain, and on 1 October 2016 on Ovation in the United States.

A second season was ordered prior to the season one premiere. 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 and aired from 21 April 2017 in Britain. On 14 September 2016, producer Claude Chelli confirmed that Versailles had been renewed for a third season, which began filming in April 2017. On 17 April 2018, Variety reported that the third season of Versailles would be its last.

Plot introduction

In the wake of the Fronde in 1667, the French nobility had begun to defy and disobey the monarchy. Young King Louis XIV (George Blagden) decides to move the court from the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris to his father's former hunting lodge near the hamlet of Versailles as a means to force their submission. As Louis renovates and expands his new Palace of Versailles, the nobles—displaced from their usual surroundings, but compelled to accompany the king—become embroiled in increasingly dangerous intrigues.

Cast

Main

Recurring

Production

Versailles was created by British writers Simon Mirren and David Wolstencroft, both of whom were previously based in Hollywood. It is the most expensive French television series of all time, with a budget of €30 million (approximately $33 million) for its first season.

A second season was ordered prior to the season one premiere. Filming for the second season began in February 2016; its story took place four years after that of the first season.

On 14 September 2016, producer Claude Chelli confirmed that Versailles had been renewed for a third season, which would begin filming in April 2017. On 11 May 2017, the official Instagram account of Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte published pictures of the ongoing shoot of the third season. On 17 April 2018, Variety reported that the third season of Versailles would be its last.

Filming locations

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

Episodes

Series overview

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 10 16 November 2015 (2015-11-16) 14 December 2015 (2015-12-14)
2 10 27 March 2017 (2017-03-27) 24 April 2017 (2017-04-24)
3 10 23 April 2018 (2018-04-23) 21 May 2018 (2018-05-21)

Season 1 (2015)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Un roi sans château n'a rien d'un vrai roi"
"Welcome to Versailles"
Jalil LespertStory by : Simon Mirren & David Wolstencroft and Andre Jacquemetton & Maria Jacquemetton
Teleplay by : Simon Mirren & David Wolstencroft
16 November 2015 (2015-11-16)
22"L'État c'est moi"
"I Am the State"
Jalil LespertSimon Mirren & David Wolstencroft16 November 2015 (2015-11-16)
33"Il est temps que la noblesse réplique"
"Mirror for Princes"
Christoph SchreweSimon Mirren & David Wolstencroft23 November 2015 (2015-11-23)
44"Demain j'aurai bien plus de choses en commun avec mon ennemi qu'avec mon propre frère"
"The Road"
Christoph SchreweSimon Mirren & David Wolstencroft23 November 2015 (2015-11-23)
55"La guerre fait toujours rage en toi, dis-lui "Halte""
"Bow to Your King"
Christoph SchreweSasha Hails30 November 2015 (2015-11-30)
66"Ce n'est pas un enfant que tu lui donnes, c'est un bâton avec lequel il nous frappera"
"Invalides"
Thomas VincentStory by : Sasha Hails
Teleplay by : Andrew Bampfield
30 November 2015 (2015-11-30)
77"La maladie du Roi empire, c'est maintenant qu'il faut agir"
"Revelations"
Thomas VincentStory by : Sasha Hails
Teleplay by : Simon Mirren & David Wolstencroft
7 December 2015 (2015-12-07)
88"Ton palais de rêve est en train de devenir un paradis du complot"
"Diplomacy"
Daniel RobyAndrew Bampfield7 December 2015 (2015-12-07)
99"Des forces beaucoup plus puissantes et déterminées continuent de chercher à nous détruire"
"Etiquette"
Daniel RobyAndrew Bampfield14 December 2015 (2015-12-14)
1010"Laissez-moi sentir le soleil sur ma peau"
"Bring the Garden Here"
Daniel RobySimon Mirren & David Wolstencroft14 December 2015 (2015-12-14)

Season 2 (2017)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
111"Labyri"
"The Labyrinth"
Thomas VincentStory by : Simon Mirren & David Wolstencroft
Teleplay by : David Wolstencroft
27 March 2017 (2017-03-27)
122"Un murmure doux et léger"
"A Still Small Voice"
Thomas VincentStory by : Simon Mirren & David Wolstencroft
Teleplay by : David Wolstencroft
27 March 2017 (2017-03-27)
133"Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?"
"Who Will Guard the Guards Themselves?"
Thomas VincentAndrew Bampfield3 April 2017 (2017-04-03)
144"Miasme"
"Miasma"
Thomas VincentAndrew Bampfield3 April 2017 (2017-04-03)
155"Guerre et paix"
"War and Peace"
Mike BarkerAndrew Bampfield & David Wolstencroft10 April 2017 (2017-04-10)
166"Les Sables du temps"
"The Sands of Time"
Mike BarkerStory by : Andrew Bampfield & David Wolstencroft
Teleplay by : Tim Loane
10 April 2017 (2017-04-10)
177"Une nuit"
"A Night"
Mike BarkerAndrew Bampfield17 April 2017 (2017-04-17)
188"Le nouveau régime"
"The New Regime"
Louis ChoquetteStory by : Andrew Bampfield & David Wolstencroft and Tim Loane
Teleplay by : Andrew Bampfield
17 April 2017 (2017-04-17)
199"Sept Ombres"
"Seven Shadows"
Louis ChoquetteStory by : Andrew Bampfield & David Wolstencroft and Tim Loane
Teleplay by : Tim Loane
24 April 2017 (2017-04-24)
2010"De pierres et de sang"
"Of Blood and Stone"
Louis ChoquetteAndrew Bampfield & Tim Loane24 April 2017 (2017-04-24)

Season 3 (2018)

The third season was released on demand in its entirety on 23 April 2018.

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
211"Miroirs et fumée"
"Smoke and Mirrors"
Richard ClarkStory by : Andrew Bampfield & Tim Loane
Teleplay by : Tim Loane
23 April 2018 (2018-04-23)

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor meets with Louis XIV to concede defeat in the Nine Years' War at the Palace of Versailles .

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans has just returned from war to meet Philippe, Chevalier de Lorraine who just begot a baby with his wife.

Bontemps reminds the French King that following The Fronde, the French Protestants, nevertheless, maintained their allegiance to Louis XIV by fighting against William of Orange.

Louis XIV accepts the counsel of his brother, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, that convicted criminals should be used for military recruitment instead of sending veterans of the Nine Years' War back to war in North America.
222"Question de confiance"
"Question of Trust"
Richard ClarkStory by : Andrew Bampfield & Tim Loane
Teleplay by : Andrew Bampfield
23 April 2018 (2018-04-23)

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, believes to have suffered a concussion at the hands of the Man in the Iron Mask.

In negotiations with Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, Louis XIV pushes to claim all of Spain once Charles II of Spain (also the half-brother of Louis XIV's wife Maria Theresa of Spain) passes away.

Louis XIV defends Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon against rumors that she was a professional prostitute in a brothels; he admonishes and dismisses a few courtesans.
233"La vérité éclatera"
"The Truth Will Burst"
Richard ClarkStory by : Andrew Bampfield & Tim Loane
Teleplay by : Martha Hillier
30 April 2018 (2018-04-30)

Louis XIV gives leave to his Hapsburg wife Maria Theresa of Spain to go to Madrid, Spain, to visit her ailing brother, the king of Spain.

Louis XIV learns that Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon was an erotic entertainer at Domaine of Villarceaux.
244"Crime et châtiment"
"Crime and Punishment"
Richard ClarkStory by : Andrew Bampfield & Tim Loane
Teleplay by : Steve Bailie
30 April 2018 (2018-04-30)
Maria Theresa of Spain, wife of Louis XIV, denied to her husband that she and Louis XIV's cousin, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, were headed to Spain to arrange the marriage of Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Poland to Charles II of Spain.
255"L'au-delà"
"The Afterlife"
Edward BazalgetteStory by : Andrew Bampfield & Tim Loane
Teleplay by : Tim Loane
7 May 2018 (2018-05-07)

An emissary of Mehmed IV meets with Louis XIV to seek the support of France against Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor in the upcoming Battle of Vienna (1683).

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans becomes preoccupied with an inscription on a dagger based on the Vulgate Wisdom of Solomon.

Maria Theresa of Spain, who did not go to Spain, dies in Versailles in 1683.
266"La roue de la fortune"
"The Wheel of Fortune"
Edward BazalgetteStory by : Andrew Bampfield & Tim Loane
Teleplay by : Andrew Bampfield
7 May 2018 (2018-05-07)

Following the death of his wife Maria Theresa of Spain, Louis XIV is concerned that his claim of dominion over the Catholic kingdom of Spain has grown tenuous. Contrary to the advice of his First Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV discusses abandoning the 1598 Edict of Nantes (Edict of Fontainebleau, 1685) to win over the moral support of Pope Innocent XI; this way, Louis XIV can emerge as the champion of the Catholic faith in France as well as Spain.

In order to re-establish his blood connection to the Kingdom of Spain, Louis XIV is keen on matching his niece to Marie Louise d'Orléans to Charles II of Spain; her step-mother Princess Palatine is very supportive of this union.

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans along with Fabien Marchal, the king's chief of police, infer that the Man in the Iron Mask is the illegitimate son of Louis XIII and Louise de La Fayette.
277"Le livre des révélations"
"The Book of Revelations"
Edward BazalgetteStory by : Andrew Bampfield & Tim Loane
Teleplay by : Martha Hillier
14 May 2018 (2018-05-14)
Upon meeting Louis XIV and Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the unmasked "Man in the Iron Mask" claims to be their father.
288"Des hommes et des dieux"
"Men and Gods"
Peter Van HeesStory by : Andrew Bampfield & Tim Loane
Teleplay by : Steve Bailie
14 May 2018 (2018-05-14)
Cardinal Leto proposes that Louis XIV marry Isabel Luísa, Princess of Beira to "unite the entire Iberian Peninsula under his aegis."
299"La poudrière"
"The Powder Keg"
Peter Van HeesStory by : Andrew Bampfield & Tim Loane
Teleplay by : Tim Loane
21 May 2018 (2018-05-21)
On orders from Louis XIV, Marquis de Louvois confiscates the property of French subjects who refuse to recant their Protestant faith.
3010"L'héritage"
"The Legacy"
Peter Van HeesStory by : Andrew Bampfield & Tim Loane
Teleplay by : Andrew Bampfield
21 May 2018 (2018-05-21)

Louis XIV decides to meet the people by the tradition of the thaumaturgy.

Louvois takes over for the retired Colbert.

Broadcast

Versailles premiered on 16 November 2015 on Canal+ in France and on Super Channel in Canada, in May 2016 on BBC Two in Britain, and on 1 October 2016 on Ovation in the U.S. The Movie Network gave early access to all of season 2 in October 2016, prior to its 2017 broadcast dates. The series stayed on the English-language Super Channel until May 2016 but was gone by December 2016, after TMN had made season 2 available early. The French version of Super Channel is keeping the show available until 8 November 2020. City aired the first six episodes of season 1 from 4 January to 25 February.

The second season premiered on 27 March 2017 in France, and on 21 April 2017 in Britain. At some point after the first season concluded, Super Channel lost the Canadian broadcast rights to the series. Subsequently, The Movie Network picked up those rights and began airing reruns of the first season.[better source needed]

In April 2016, Netflix acquired the rights to stream Versailles. Netflix released the third and final season of Versailles on 2 April 2019.

Reception

The first season of Versailles received mixed to positive reviews from critics. It holds a 55 out of 100 rating on Metacritic, based on six reviews, and an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 6.56 out of 10, based on 10 reviews. Marjolaine Boutet of Le Monde gave the first season a mixed review, stating that its ambition was both its main flaw and what made it a quality television series, and added that the series' most fascinating character, Louis XIV's gardener Jacques (Gilly Gilchrist), did not have enough screen time.

The third season has an approval rating of 44% on Rotten Tomatoes based on nine reviews, with an average rating of 5.2 out of 10.


This page was last updated at 2024-02-08 12:39 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari