''Versailles'' is

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

television series, set during the construction of the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

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+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

in France and on Super Channel in Canada in May 2016 on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

in Britain, and on 1 October 2016 on

Ovation The ovation ( from ''ovare'': to rejoice) was a lesser form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted when war was not declared between enemies on the level of nations or states; when an enemy was considered basely inferior (e.g., slaves, pira ...

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 Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reported that the third season of ''Versailles'' would be its last.

Plot introduction

In the wake of the

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in the Kingdom of France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The government of the young King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition ...

in 1667, the

French nobility The French nobility () was an Aristocracy, aristocratic social class in France from the France in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First French Empire, ...

had begun to defy and disobey the monarchy. Young King

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

( George Blagden) decides to move the court from the

Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a former royal palace in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the department of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris, France. Today, it houses the '' Musée d'Archéologie nationale'' (Nationa ...

near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to his father's former hunting lodge near the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

as a means to force their submission. As Louis renovates and expands his new

, the nobles—displaced from their usual surroundings, but compelled to accompany the king—become embroiled in increasingly dangerous intrigues.

Cast

Main

* George Blagden as Louis XIV, King of France *

Alexander Vlahos Alexander Vlahos (born 30 July 1988) is a Welsh actor, writer, and director best known for playing Philippe, Duke of Orléans, in the Canal+ television series ''Versailles''. In 2012, Vlahos took the role of the adult Mordred, in the final ...

as Monsieur

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans ''Monsieur'' Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (21 September 1640 – 9 June 1701) was the younger son of King Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria, and the younger brother of King Louis XIV. He was the founder of the House of Orléans, a ...

, brother of the king *

Tygh Runyan Tygh Runyan (born June 13, 1976) is a Canadian actor and musician. Career Runyan has had a long career of character and supporting roles. His most notable roles are as Dr. Robert Caine in ''Stargate Universe'' and Fabien Marchal in ''Versaille ...

as Fabien Marchal, the king's chief of police * Stuart Bowman as

Alexandre Bontemps Alexandre Bontemps (; 1626–1701) was the valet of King Louis XIV and a powerful figure at the court of Versailles, respected and feared for his exceptional access to the King. He was the second of a sequence of five Bontemps to hold the posit ...

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, ''valet de chambre'' was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "va ...

of the king *

Amira Casar Amira Casar is a French-British film actress. She was nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actress for the 1997 film ''La Vérité si je mens !, La Vérité si je mens!'' and also for the Palme d'Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival for ...

as Béatrice, Madame de Clermont * Evan Williams as Chevalier de Lorraine, lover of the Duke of Orléans * Noémie Schmidt as

Henrietta of England Henrietta of England (Henrietta Anne Stuart; 16 June 1644 O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="6 June 1644 New Style">N.S.– 30 June 1670) was the youngest child of King Charles I of England and his wife, Henrietta Maria of France. She was Duchess ...

, first wife of Phillipe * Anna Brewster as

Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise of Montespan (5 October 1640 – 27 May 1707), commonly known as Madame de Montespan (), was a French noblewoman and the most celebrated royal mistress of King Louis XIV. During their ...

, the king's favourite mistress * Sarah Winter as

Louise de La Vallière Françoise-Louise de La Baume Le Blanc, Duchess of La Vallière and Vaujours (6 August 1644 – 6 June 1710) was a French nobility, French noblewoman and the Royal mistress, mistress of King Louis XIV of France from 1661 to 1667. La Vallière ...

* Suzanne Clément as Madame Agathe , a sorceress based on

La Voisin Catherine Monvoisin, or Montvoisin, née ''Deshayes'', known as "La Voisin" (c. 1640 – 22 February 1680), was a French fortune teller, commissioned poisoner, and professional provider of alleged sorcery. She was the head of a network of for ...

* Catherine Walker as Madame Scarron / Madame de Maintenon * 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 Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

, Philippe's second wife *

Pip Torrens Philip D'Oyly TorrensThe Cambridge University List of Members up to 31 July 1998, University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998, p. 793 (born 2 June 1960) is an English actor. Torrens portrayed courtier Tommy Lascelles in the Netfl ...

as the Duke de Cassel * Harry Hadden-Paton as Gaston de Foix *

Greta Scacchi Greta Scacchi ( , ; born 18 February 1960) is an actress. Born in Italy to a British-Italian couple, she was raised in Britain and finally settled in Australia, becoming a naturalized citizen. Scacchi had her first leading role in the romanti ...

as Madeleine de Foix

Recurring

Lizzie Brocheré Elizabete D'Clouassam Brocheré (, born 22 March 1985) is a French actress, writer and producer. Her English language credits include '' American Horror Story: Asylum'' (2012–2013), ''The Strain'' (2015), ''Versailles'' (2015–2017), '' Falli ...

as Claudine Masson, midwife who becomes the king's physician *Steve Cumyn as

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

*Gilly Gilchrist as Jacques * Dominique Blanc as

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (; ; born Ana María Mauricia; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen of France from 1615 to 1643 by marriage to King Louis XIII. She was also Queen of Navarre until the kingdom's annexation into the French crown ...

*Joe Sheridan as

François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois (; 18 January 1641 – 16 July 1691) was the French Secretary of State for War during a significant part of the reign of Louis XIV. He is commonly referred to as "Louvois". Together with his father, ...

*Geoffrey Bateman as

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French Bishop (Catholic Church), bishop and theology, theologian. Renowned for his sermons, addresses and literary works, he is regarded as a brilliant orator and lit ...

* Ken Bones as Cardinal Leto *Thierry Harcourt as

André Le Nôtre André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed Gardens ...

* Anatole Taubman as Montcourt *

Alexis Michalik Alexis Michalik (born 13 December 1982) is a Franco-British actor, scriptwriter and director. He adapted Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet'' into his play ''R & J'' and he has written and staged his own plays, including '' Le Porteur d'histoire'' ...

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 Michael Anthony McNulty (born 14 December 1982), known professionally as Matthew McNulty, is a German-born British actor. His credits include '' See No Evil: The Moors Murders'' (2006), ''Looking for Eric'' (2009), '' The Musketeers'' (2016), '' ...

as Guillaume, a cobbler who serves in the army under Philippe * Jenny Platt as Jeanne, Guillaume's sister

Minor characters

* 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 Marie-Thérèse begotten with prince Aniaba (or a court jester, they get both accused).

Production

''Versailles'' was created by British writers

Simon Mirren Simon Mirren is a British television writer and producer. He is a nephew of the actress Helen Mirren. Career Simon Mirren began his career writing for British series like medical drama ''Casualty'', spy thriller '' Spooks'' and '' Waking the Dead ...

and David Wolstencroft, both of whom were previously based in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. It is the most expensive French television series of all time, with a budget of €30 million (approximately $33 million) for its first season. 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, ''

'' reported that the third season of ''Versailles'' would be its last.

Filming locations

In addition to the

, many other palaces and chateaux were filmed for the depiction of the unfinished Versailles, including: *The

Château de Champs-sur-Marne The Château de Champs-sur-Marne () is a neoclassical architecture, neoclassical château in Champs-sur-Marne, France. It was built in its present form for the treasurer Charles Renouard de la Touane in 1699 by Pierre Bullet, ''architecte du roi' ...

gardens (the chateau pictured below) *The Château de Janvry *The Château of Lésigny *The

Château de Maisons-Laffitte A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...

(pictured below) *The

Château de Pierrefonds The Château de Pierrefonds () is a castle situated in the commune of Pierrefonds in the Oise department in the Hauts-de-France region, Northern France. It is located on the southeast edge of the forest of Compiègne, northeast of Paris, betw ...

(pictured below) used as the castle preuses room *The

Château de Sceaux The Château de Sceaux () is a grand Château, country house in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, approximately south-southwest of the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. Situated in a large park laid out by André Le Nôtre, partly in Antony, Hauts-de-Seine, ...

*The Château de Vigny (pictured below) *The commune of

Rambouillet Rambouillet (, , ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region of France. It is located beyond the outskirts of Paris, southwest of its Kilometr ...

Vaux-le-Vicomte The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte () or simply Vaux-le-Vicomte is a Baroque French château located in Maincy, near Melun, southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department of Île-de-France. Built between 1658 and 1661 ...

(pictured below) Château de Maisons-Laffitte 001.jpg,

Château de Pierrefonds vu depuis le Parc.jpg,

Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte IMG 9311a (5827553805).jpg,

Versailles Tapis vert (1).jpg, Modern

, 2007 File:Château de Champs-sur-Marne 01.jpg,

File:Vigny nord.jpg, Château de Vigny

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2015)

Season 2 (2017)

Season 3 (2018)

The third season was released

on demand On-demand or on demand may refer to: Manufacturing * Build-on-demand * Just-in-time manufacturing, a methodology for production * Print on demand, printing technology and business process in which new copies of a document are not printed until ...

in its entirety on 23 April 2018.

Broadcast

''Versailles'' premiered on 16 November 2015 on

in France and on Super Channel in Canada, in May 2016 on

in Britain, and on 1 October 2016 on

in the U.S.

The Movie Network Crave (formerly The Movie Network or TMN) is a Television in Canada, Canadian premium television network and Streaming service provider, streaming service owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. Launched in 1983 as the national service ...

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 A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

aired the first six episodes of season 1 from 4 January to 25 February. The second season premiered on 27 March 2017 in France, and on 21 April 2017 in Britain. At some point after the first season concluded, Super Channel lost the Canadian broadcast rights to the series. Subsequently,

picked up those rights and began airing reruns of the first season. In April 2016,

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

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

Reception

The first season of ''Versailles'' received mixed to positive reviews from critics. It holds a 55 out of 100 rating on

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, based on six reviews, and an 80% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, with an average score of 6.56 out of 10, based on 10 reviews. Marjolaine Boutet of ''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'' 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. 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.

References

External links

* (archived) *{{IMDb title, 3830558
TV Review: ''Versailles''
– ''

''
Welcome to ''Versailles''
– ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' 2015 French television series debuts 2018 French television series endings 2010s French drama television series BBC Two original programming Biographical films about French royalty Fiction set in 1667 2010s French LGBTQ-related television series Canal+ original programming Cultural depictions of Anne of Austria Cultural depictions of Jean-Baptiste Colbert Cultural depictions of William III of England Ovation (American TV channel) original programming History of the Palace of Versailles Super Channel (Canadian TV channel) original programming Television series set in the 17th century Television shows set in France Works about Louis XIV Works about the Affair of the Poisons