Versailles (TV series)

Versailles is a Franco-Canadian historical fiction 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 US. 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 have 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 surround the king—become embroiled in increasingly dangerous intrigues.

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, the king's chief of police
 Stuart Bowman as Alexandre Bontemps, valet of the king
 Amira Casar as Béatrice, Madame de Clermont 
 Evan Williams as Chevalier de Lorraine, lover of the Duke of Orléans
 Noémie Schmidt as Henrietta of England 
 Anna Brewster as Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan, the king's favourite mistress
 Sarah Winter as Louise de La Vallière 
 Suzanne Clément as Madame Agathe 
 Catherine Walker as Madame Scarron / Madame de Maintenon 
 Elisa Lasowski as Marie-Thérèse, Queen Consort of France
 Maddison Jaizani as Sophie de Clermont, later the Duchesse de Cassel
 Jessica Clark as Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess of the Palatinate, Philippe's second wife 
 Pip Torrens as the Duke de Cassel 
 Harry Hadden-Paton as Gaston de Foix 
 Greta Scacchi as Madeleine de Foix

Recurring 
 Lizzie Brocheré as Claudine Masson, midwife who becomes the king's physician
 Steve Cumyn as Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Minister of Finance
  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 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

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2015)

Season 2 (2017)

Season 3 (2018) 
The third season was released on demand in its entirety on 23 April 2018.

Production
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.

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 January 4 to February 25.

The second season premiered on 27 March 2017 in France, and aired from 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.

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

Filming locations 

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 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 of Vigny
 The commune of Rambouillet
 Vaux-le-Vicomte (pictured below)

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.

References

External links
  only available in Canada
 
 TV Review: Versailles – Variety
 Welcome to Versailles – The Daily Telegraph

Category:2010s Canadian drama television series
Category:2015 Canadian television series debuts
Category:French drama television series
Category:French LGBT-related television shows
Category:Television series set in the 17th century
Category:Television shows set in France
Category:Works about Louis XIV of France
Category:Palace of Versailles
Category:Canal+ original programming
Category:Super Channel shows
Category:The Movie Network original programs
Category:Citytv shows
Category:Cultural depictions of Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Category:Cultural depictions of William III of England