Marie Antoinette: Is the PBS series based on true story and will there be season 2?
American fans of historical drama television are in for a treat as Canal+'s French series Marie Antoinette just made its US debut on PBS on March 19, 2023. Originally released on December 29, 2022, it stars Emilia Schuel and Louise Cunningham. Although the show received mixed reviews for its different portrayal of Rani, it was featured by Variety as one of its critics' picks for the best international series of 2022. The first season follows the story of Marie Antoinette as she enters the world of nobility in 2022 and marries Louis XVI. For those interested in knowing more about the series, how accurate it is to history and its possible future, keep reading.
Is Marie Antoinette based on a true story?
Marie Antoinette offers a feminist take on the queen's life and this has not gone down well with critics or historians. Melanie Clegg, author of Marie Antoinette: An Intimate History, tells Smithsonian Magazine that the queen "wouldn't really have thought of herself as a feminist," though "she came from a place where a woman was in charge."
Catriona Seth, a historian and literary scholar at the University of Oxford, claims that the label is "achronistic" and feels that it "doesn't suit [Marie Antoinette's] way of seeing things at all." "People try and make Marie Antoinette seem less complicated than she really was," she added. Marie Antoinette biographer Evelyn Lever told the magazine, "As a historian, I'm embarrassed that viewers think the series accurately reflects the times." French portal Le Figaro was highly critical of the series, writing, "British designer Deborah Davies tackles current feminist concerns about an Austrian princess who married Louis XVI. The story then serves as an excuse for scenes that are both ridiculous and obscene. Obscene But. Maybe Anglo-Saxon directors should be banned from Versailles! Because, no, not everything is valid in historical fiction."
Will there be a season 2 of Marie Antoinette?
According to Variety, Canal+ has renewed the series for a second season. BAFTA-nominated Ed Buzzglegate will direct the first four episodes. Deborah Davies will continue as producer, and the writing team includes Louise Ironside, Charlotte Wolff, Francesca Forristall and Andrew Bampfield. Filming is expected to begin in the fall of 2023.