‘Merteuil:’ French Max Series Starring Anamaria Vartolomei, Diane Kruger & ‘Emily In Paris’ Actor Lucas Bravo Starts Production

Cameras have started rolling in Normandy on Max’s new French series Merteuil , starring Anamaria Vartolomei, Diane Kruger, Vincent Lacoste, and Lucas Bravo.

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Jessica Palud ( Being Maria ) directs the series which will shoot until December in what Max has described as “grandiose and intimate settings, from the cliffs of Normandy to the châteaux of Ile-de-France.”

The series was written by Jean-Baptiste Delafon with producers including NABI Productions and Felicita Films. The series synopsis reads: To be the hero of your own story, you sometimes have to be the villain in others. Marquise de Merteuil, betrayed by Valmont, embarks on a daring journey to become Paris’ leading courtesan. Max has described the series as a free adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

“We are delighted to bring to life ‘Merteuil’, a series that explores power games, manipulation, and moral dilemmas through complex and fascinating characters,” said Véra Peltekian, Vice President of original French productions at Max.

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“This ambitious project allows us to revisit the spirit of ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ through a modern prism, while retaining the intensity and sophistication that made it a timeless masterpiece.”

Producers Nabi Productions and Felicita Films added: “At the heart of the masterpiece that is Les Liaisons Dangereuses lies another masterpiece: its heroine, the Marquise de Merteuil. It took nothing less than the combined talents of Jessica Palud and Jean-Baptiste Delafon to imagine the genesis and destiny of this revolutionary character. Through the 18th century of libertines and the dying nobility, Jean-Baptiste and Jessica offer a modern exploration of the themes of pleasure, freedom, and the emancipation of women.”

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