PBS has picked up U.S. rights to Marie Antoinette, a new historic epic from Canal+ on the life of the iconic French queen.
Banijay Rights, which is handling international sales for the series, announced the deal ahead of the international TV market MIPCOM Cannes, which kicks off Monday.
German actress Emilia Schüle stars as Antoinette in this historic drama created and written by The Favourite screenwriter Deborah Davis. The series depicts the queen, who left Austria at a young age to marry the Dauphin of France, as an incredibly modern and avant-garde figure for her time. Louise Ironside (The Split), Avril E. Russell (All on a Summer’s Day) and Chloë Moss (Run Sister Run) co-wrote the series, which is directed by Pete Travis (Bloodlands) and Geoffrey Enthoven (Children of Love).
Claude Chelli and Margaux Balsan of Capa Drama, Stéphanie Chartreux of Banijay Studios France and Christophe Toulemonde of Les Gens produced Marie Antoinette. PBS will bow the eight-part series in North America in Spring 2023. Banijay has already pre-sold Marie Antoinette to BBC2 in the U.K. and BBC First in Australia.
In a separate deal, PBS picked up season two and three of the acclaimed Quebecois mystery drama The Wall from sales group Beta Film. The series, produced by Pixcom, will be part of the Walter’s Choice franchise available to stream on PBS Passport. Ahead of MIPCOM, Beta signed deals for season two of The Wall with Australia’s SBS, Cosmopolitan TV for Spain and Middle Eastern MBC for its streaming service Shahid, as well as with France’s NBCUniversal for seasons two and three.
