David Farnor | On 06, Aug 2019

Alice Englert, Lesley Manville and Paloma Faith are among the star names joining STARZPLAY’s Dangerous Liaisons TV series.

The drama is a reimagining of the characters from Laclos’ classic 18th-century novel and tells the origin story of how the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont meet as passionate young lovers in Paris on the eve of revolution. Driven to right the wrongs of their past, we follow the couple as they rise from the slums of Paris and scale the heights of the French aristocracy, seducing and manipulating both the nobility and each other to survive.

Alice Englert (Beautiful Creatures, Ratched) stars as Camille, a beautiful young woman from nowhere with a mysterious past who seeks revenge on the wealthy aristocrats who led her to ruin. Betrayed by her lover, Valmont, she turns heartbreak into empowerment as she strategises to gain status, power and freedom.

Nicholas Denton (Glitch, Pillars) plays her lover Pascal Valmont, driven to regain the title and status stolen from him by his stepmother after his father’s death. Without status or money, he must seduce and blackmail to get what he wants, even if it risks losing the one he loves most – Camille.

Joining them will be Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) as Genevieve de Merteuil, a Marquise who becomes Camille’s mentor in the world of the Parisian nobility. Also cast are: Carice Van Houten (Game of Thrones) as Jacqueline de Montrachet, a pious noblewoman with a mysterious connection to Camille; Paloma Faith (Youth) as Florence de Regnier, a playful, fiery noblewoman; Michael McElhatton (Game of Thrones) as Jean de Merteuil, Genevieve de Merteuil’s husband and a powerful Marquis who threatens Camille’s rise in society; Kosar Ali (Rocks) as Victoire, Camille’s sparky, cynical and brave best friend; Nathaniel Saleh (Mary Poppins Returns) as Azolan, Valmont’s gentle, thoughtful young companion; Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Godzilla vs. Kong) as Majordome, the head servant of the Merteuil house;
Hilton Pelser (Moffie) as Gabriel, a police officer obsessed with Camille; Mia Threapleton (A Little Chaos) as Rose, an impressionable young sex worker with dreams of a better life; Colette Dalal Tchantcho (“The Witcher”) as Ondine de Valmont, Pascal Valmont’s caustic, social-climbing stepmother; Lucy Cohu (The Queen’s Sister) as Christine de Sevigny, a shrewd, ambitious Duchess and nemesis to Camille; Fisayo Akinde (The Personal History of David Copperfield) as Chevalier de Saint-Jacques, preferred composer to Queen Marie Antoinette, and Pascal Valmont’s best friend; Maria Friedman (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) as Berthe, an effervescent dressmaker for the great and good of Paris; and Clare Higgins (Ready Player One) as Madame Jericho, the eccentric proprietor of a brothel in the slums of Paris.

The series is created and written by Harriet Warner (Tell Me Your Secrets, Call the Midwife), who also serves as executive producer, alongside Playground’s Colin Callender (Wolf Hall), Tony Krantz (24) for Flame Ventures, Bethan Jones (War and Peace), Scott Huff (The Spanish Princess) and Christopher Hampton (The Father). Coline Abert (Les Revenants), James Dormer (Medici) and Rita Kalnejais (Babyteeth) will serve as writers on the series alongside Warner. Leonora Lonsdale (“The Pale Horse,” Beast) has been tapped to direct the first four episodes of the season.

The series is produced for STARZ by Playground and Flame Ventures in association with Lionsgate Television. It will air on STARZ in the US and Canada and on STARZPLAY in the UK, Europe, Latin America and Japan.

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STARZ orders new Dangerous Liaisons series

6th August 2019

STARZ has ordered a new series based on the novel Dangerous Liaisons.

The book, written by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos in the 18th century, is no stranger to the screen, having been adapted by Christopher Hampton and Stephen Frears in 1998, starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich, and again in 1999 by Roger Kumble, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe.

The STARZ Original series will tell the origin story of the early years of the iconic characters Merteuil and Valmont when they meet as passionate young lovers in the slums of 18th century Paris.

Written and reimagined by Harriet Warner (Tell Me Your Secrets, Call the Midwife), who also serves as executive producer and showrunner, this is Dangerous Liaisons for a 21st century audience told from the perspective of Merteuil, informed by her line from the novel: “Born to avenge my sex and conquer yours, I have succeeded in inventing strategies for doing so that before me had never been conceived.”

Described by STARZ as “thrilling, sexy and provocative”, the story of seduction and betrayal follows the dangerous liaisons of the rich and powerful in the court of Louis VXI, as they wreak havoc on society, and each other along the way.

The series is executive produced by Playground’s Colin Callender (Wolf Hall, Howards End), Tony Krantz (24, Blood & Oil), Bethan Jones (Les Misérables, Sherlock) Scott Huff (STARZ Original series The Spanish Princess, The Missing), and Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement). Coline Abert (Les Revenants), James Dormer (Medici) and Rita Kalnejais (Babyteeth) will also write for the series.

The eight-episode season will be available to stream on STARZPLAY in the UK via Prime Video Channels and Virgin Media.

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