Versailles (TV series)

Versailles
Genre	Historical drama
Created by	Simon Mirren David Wolstencroft
Written by	Simon Mirren David Wolstencroft Sasha Hails Andrew Bampfield Tim Loane Martha Hillier Steve Bailie
Directed by	Jalil Lespert Christoph Schrewe Thomas Vincent Daniel Roby Mike Barker Louis Choquette Richard Clark Edward Bazalgette Peter Van Hees
Starring	George Blagden Alexander Vlahos Tygh Runyan Stuart Bowman Amira Casar Evan Williams Noémie Schmidt Anna Brewster Sarah Winter Suzanne Clément Catherine Walker Elisa Lasowski Maddison Jaizani Jessica Clark Pip Torrens Harry Hadden-Paton Greta Scacchi
Opening theme	"Outro" by M83
Composers	NOIA Michel Corriveau
Country of origin	Canada France United Kingdom United States
Original languages	English French
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	30 (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
Cinematography	Pierre-Yves Bastard
Editors	Mike Fromentin Sarah Anderson Jean-François Elie
Production companies	Capa Drama Incendo Zodiak Fiction Nomad Media
Budget	30 million €
Original release
Network	Canal+ Super Channel BBC Two Ovation
Release	16 November 2015 (2015-11-16) – 21 May 2018 (2018-05-21)

Versailles is historical drama television series, set during the construction of the Palace of Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV. A co production between France, Canada, the United Kingdom and United States, the series 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.

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.

• 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, the king's chief of police
• 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, first wife of Phillipe (main: season 1; guest: season 2)
• Anna Brewster as Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan, the king's favourite mistress
• Sarah Winter as Louise de La Vallière (season 1)
• Suzanne Clément as Madame Agathe (season 2),^[1] a sorceress based on La Voisin
• Catherine Walker as Madame Scarron / Madame de Maintenon (seasons 2–3)
• Elisa Lasowski as Marie-Thérèse, queen consort of France
• Maddison Jaizani as Béatrice's daughter Sophie de Clermont, later the Duchesse de Cassel
• Jessica Clark as Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess of the Palatinate, Philippe's second wife (season 2–3)
• Pip Torrens as the Duke de Cassel (seasons 1–2)
• Harry Hadden-Paton as Gaston de Foix (season 2)^[2]
• Greta Scacchi as Madeleine de Foix (season 2)

• Lizzie Brocheré as Claudine Masson, midwife who becomes the king's physician
• Steve Cumyn as Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Minister of Finance
• 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
• Ken Bones as Cardinal Leto
• Thierry Harcourt as André Le Nôtre
• Anatole Taubman as Montcourt
• Alexis Michalik as Louis, Duke of Rohan
• George Webster as William of Orange
• Mark Rendall as Thomas Beaumont
• Ned Dennehy as Father Étienne
• James Joint as Father Pascal
• Matthew McNulty as Guillaume, a cobbler who serves in the army under Philippe
• Jenny Platt as Jeanne, Guillaume's sister

• Phareelle Onoyan as Isabelle, a courtesan
• the Duke of Luxembourg
• Aniaba, season 1; an African prince
• Louise Marie-Thérèse (The Black Nun of Moret), an illegitimate infant of the Queen Maria Theresa begotten with a court jester

Versailles was created by British writers Simon Mirren and David Wolstencroft, both of whom were previously based in Hollywood.^[3] It is the most expensive French television series of all time, with a budget of €30 million (approximately $33 million) for its first season.^[3]

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.^[4] On 11 May 2017, the official Instagram account of Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte published pictures of the ongoing shoot of the third season.^[5] On 17 April 2018, Variety reported that the third season of Versailles would be its last.^[6]

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

• The Château de Champs-sur-Marne gardens (the chateau pictured below)
• 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^{[check spelling]} room
• The Château de Sceaux
• The Château de Vigny (pictured below)
• The commune of Rambouillet
• Vaux-le-Vicomte (pictured below)

• 
  Château de Maisons-Laffitte
• 
  Château de Pierrefonds
• 
  Vaux-le-Vicomte
• 
  Modern Palace of Versailles, 2007
• 
  Château de Champs-sur-Marne
• 
  Château de Vigny

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Un roi sans château n'a rien d'un vrai roi" "Welcome to Versailles"	Jalil Lespert	Story by : Simon Mirren & David Wolstencroft and Andre Jacquemetton & Maria Jacquemetton Teleplay by : Simon Mirren & David Wolstencroft	16 November 2015 (2015-11-16)
Louis XIV has been the official king of France since he was a 4-year-old toddler. However, his mother Anne of Austria and a council of ministers were really in charge. In 1666, his mother passes away when he is 27 years old. He begins construction of the Palace of Versailles in earnest. Many aristocratic ladies such as Louise de La Vallière in the royal court are lovers of Louis XIV.
2	2	"L'État c'est moi" "I Am the State"	Jalil Lespert	Simon Mirren & David Wolstencroft	16 November 2015 (2015-11-16)
Louis XIV is upset that his Queen Maria Theresa of Spain has given birth to a Moorish child.
3	3	"Il est temps que la noblesse réplique" "Mirror for Princes"	Christoph Schrewe	Simon Mirren & David Wolstencroft	23 November 2015 (2015-11-23)
Most of the nobles dislike Versailles. Nonetheless, Louis XIV has completed his move to Versailles. Colbert is serving as his first minister.
4	4	"Demain j'aurai bien plus de choses en commun avec mon ennemi qu'avec mon propre frère" "The Road"	Christoph Schrewe	Simon Mirren & David Wolstencroft	23 November 2015 (2015-11-23)
Louis XIV regularly sleeps with his sister-in-law Henrietta of England.
5	5	"La guerre fait toujours rage en toi, dis-lui "Halte"" "Bow to Your King"	Christoph Schrewe	Sasha Hails	30 November 2015 (2015-11-30)
On his brother Louis's order, in 1668, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans has returned from the War of Devolution against the Spanish Netherlands. Duke de Cassel refuses to prove that he is of noble lineage; in turn, Louis XIV burns down Cassel's chateau with a ploy.
6	6	"Ce n'est pas un enfant que tu lui donnes, c'est un bâton avec lequel il nous frappera" "Invalides"	Thomas Vincent	Story by : Sasha Hails Teleplay by : Andrew Bampfield	30 November 2015 (2015-11-30)
The construction of the Versailles Palace seems like a never-ending project. Louis XIV is using army soldiers—some of whom have become invalids in wars and construction accidents—to complete the construction. Later, to assuage the frustration of the soldier builders of Versailles, Louis meets with them and proposes the construction of Les Invalides which will include a hospital, retirement home for soldier builders, refectories, and other facilities. He promises to provide free housing there for all wounded soldiers for the rest of their lives. Philippe I, Duke of Orléans urges his wife Henrietta of England to leave Versailles for Château de Saint-Cloud.
7	7	"La maladie du Roi empire, c'est maintenant qu'il faut agir" "Revelations"	Thomas Vincent	Story by : Sasha Hails Teleplay by : Simon Mirren & David Wolstencroft	7 December 2015 (2015-12-07)
Philippe, Chevalier de Lorraine is imprisoned for treason against Louis XIV.
8	8	"Ton palais de rêve est en train de devenir un paradis du complot" "Diplomacy"	Daniel Roby	Andrew Bampfield	7 December 2015 (2015-12-07)
The House of Orange is in the ascendency in Holland. So, Louis XIV dispatches his cousin and sister-in-law Henrietta of England on a diplomatic mission to forge an alliance with her brother Charles II of England.
9	9	"Des forces beaucoup plus puissantes et déterminées continuent de chercher à nous détruire" "Etiquette"	Daniel Roby	Andrew Bampfield	14 December 2015 (2015-12-14)
In Dover in 1670, Henrietta meets with her brother Charles II where she successfully negotiates the Secret Treaty of Dover. Louis wants his brother Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, to take charge of overseeing court etiquette at Versailles. Later, when William of Orange (who at the time was only the Dutch monarch and not yet the British monarch as well) confronts Charles II about the latter's alliance with France against Holland, Charles II proposes a marriage between his niece Mary II and William of Orange to allay Holland's fears. Louis XIV begins to train his eldest son Louis, Grand Dauphin with the help of the Rohan.
10	10	"Laissez-moi sentir le soleil sur ma peau" "Bring the Garden Here"	Daniel Roby	Simon Mirren & David Wolstencroft	14 December 2015 (2015-12-14)
After inferring that Montcourt has poisoned Henrietta, Louis XIV and Fabian Marchal confront Montcourt.

The third season was released on demand in its entirety on 23 April 2018.^[7]

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.^[8] The series stayed on the English-language Super Channel until May 2016^[9] but was gone by December 2016,^[10] 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.^[11]

The second season premiered on 27 March 2017 in France,^[12] and on 21 April 2017 in Britain.^[12] At some point after the first season concluded, Super Channel lost the Canadian broadcast rights to the series.^[13] Subsequently, The Movie Network picked up those rights and began airing reruns of the first season.^{[14][better source needed]}

In April 2016, Netflix acquired the rights to stream Versailles.^[15] Netflix released the third and final season of Versailles on 2 April 2019.

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,^[16] and an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 6.56 out of 10, based on 10 reviews.^[17] 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.^[18]

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.^[19]

• Official website (archived)
• Versailles at IMDb
• TV Review: Versailles – Variety
• Welcome to Versailles – The Daily Telegraph