'Marie Antoinette' Heads to PBS in 2023
PBS Distribution has acquired the rights to the buzzy French costume drama Marie Antoinette, an eight-part series that aims to take a more modern, feminist approach to the story of one of history's most infamous women, whom popular culture most often tends to remember as either a frivolous airhead or an oppressive villain.
Marie Antoinette hails from Canal Plus, the producers of the historical drama Versailles, and Deborah Davis, the writer of the Oscar-winning film The Favourite. Rising Russian-born German actor Emilia Schüle stars as the titular queen, the last to reign in France before the French Revolution dissolved the monarchy, and a woman it feels like everyone has an opinion about, regardless of how much or how little of her history you know.
In many ways, the series feels like a natural fit for PBS, with its sumptuous costumes and period settling, and while both Versailles and The Favourite feature slightly more adult themes (and an occasionally lax relationship with historical fact), the rich drama of both makes for a compelling story.
