An iconic historical and pop figure, Marie-Antoinette is the heroine of a wonderful new series.

Before the marvelous <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Emegf0_bZo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Corsage</a> , in theaters on December 14, which brilliantly explores the life of Elisabeth of Austria (the Sisi of sweet turnips with Romy Schneider), directed by Marie Kreutzer and worn by the brilliant Vicky Krieps, it&#39;s the turn of Marie-Antoinette to be the subject of a new fiction. While it&#39;s tempting to compare it to Sofia Coppola&#39;s melancholic-pop <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBWyKRoh98U" target="_blank" rel="noopener">biopic</a> , or more recently to Benoît Jacquot&#39;s very beautiful <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJys3U7XuvQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Les Adieux à la Reine</a> , consider it for what it is, a series that cleverly occupies the long offered to him, would do him honour. We probably know the premise: the very young Marie-Antoinette who must leave her native Austria to marry the future King Louis XVI, to serve geopolitical interests. We must pay tribute to the brilliant cast: as a silent Dauphin grand dadais, Louis Cunningham is exceptional and Emilia Schüle, a delicate princess and totally lost in a labyrinthine and trapped Versailles (the subtitle of the series &quot;First steps at court&quot; is eloquent ), is stunning, all in nuances and tremors, before, soon, to draw its own living space. Moving forward with measured steps, the story follows the (painful) journey of the spouses towards each other, with touching patience, capturing without heaviness all that is brewing in the background, the intrigues of the court which make House of Cards look like an episode of Plus belle la vie . Obviously produced with substantial means, the series, sumptuous, never makes the weight of this device felt. It also has the merit of letting secondary characters breathe, the little-known musician Saint-Georges, Madame du Barry, &quot;Papa Roi&quot; (wonderful James Purefoy), and all that Versailles harbors intriguing people and anonymous vipers (depicted in a chilling premonition of the faceless violence of social networks…). For the historical reverse shot - basically, everything that does not relate to royal life, we will probably have to wait, but this bias, remaining, so to speak, confined between the golds of the palaces does not lack meaning: of course, we think of The Crown , for this chilling description of the capacity of &quot;the firm&quot; to make captive-captive those who venture into the reigning spheres. Intelligently mixing genres - the historical film in costumes, the teenage rom-com, the learning story, the anxiety-provoking surrealism (with disturbing fantastic swerves, quite evoking the <a href="https://www.lofficiel.com/pop-culture/pourquoi-il-faut-absolument-voir-spencer-avec-kristen-stewar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spencer</a> devoted to Princess Diana) -, these eight episodes, that we imagine (hope, too) to have a sequel, are captivating. An 8 episode series created by Deborah Davis. With Emilia Schüle, Louis Cunningham, James Purefoy, Jack Archer and Jasmine Blackborow. Broadcast on Canal + from October 31. Two episodes every Monday. Available on myCANAL.

From left to right: Yoli Fuller, Martijn Lakemeier, Emilia Schüle, Louis Cunningham, Oscar Lesage. Copyright: © Caroline Dubois - Capa Drama / Banijay Studios France / People / Canal+

Why you have to see the Marie-Antoinette series

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