Marie Antoinette Is Returning for a Second Season on PBS

Marie Antoinette Season 2 News© Caroline Dubois – Capa Drama / Banijay Studios France / Les Gens / Canal+

We’re living through a Marie Antoinette renaissance, and it’s not ending anytime soon.

Marie Antoinette, the Canal+ drama that premiered on PBS last week, was renewed for a second season. Emilia Schüle and Louis Cunningham will return as Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI, respectively.

Per Variety, season two “will portray how the royal couple at their height of their power faced an unprecedented financial crisis. The incessant attacks of Provence and Chartres against the royal couple stirred up the hatred of the nobles while disastrous consequences.”

Deborah Davis, the show’s creator, will return to helm a second season, and Ed Bazalgette will direct the first four episodes of season two. Filming is expected to begin this fall.

“The flawless, high-quality production is filled with glamourous talent and lavish locations, and we’re thrilled to offer a landmark new season of this unique interpretation of the fashionable French queen to global audiences,” Cathy Payne, CEO of Banijay Rights (the show’s global distributor), said in a statement.

The show offers a feminist take on the French queen. “She was a very different person from what history clings to. She wasn’t a careless ruler with no regard for the French people. She was misunderstood and saw the world through her own lens,” actress Emilia Schüle tells T&C. “She was much more complex and much more modern. I actually think she really embodies our views today of equality, individuality, and self-determination.”

Watch Marie Antoinette on PBS

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