Versailles

Using the spectacular estate of Versailles as a backdrop, these three seasons follow the lives of King Louis XIV (George Blagden) and his brother Philippe, Duc D'Orléans (Alexander Vlahos). The former has been king since he was about five years old, his brother a much more entertaining, flamboyant and sexually fluid individual for almost as long. The first season sees the King alight on their father's old hunting lodge and decide it is to be his new grand palace. Aided by his faithful valet "Bontemps" (Stuart Bowman) and ruthless police chief "Marchal" (Tygh Runyan) and facing the duplicity of the likes of the Duc de Cassel (Pip Torrens) he must assert his royal authority before his kingdom crumbles away. The King also must reconcile the aspirations of his wife, Marie-Thérèse of Austria with his string of mistresses including the Marquise de Montespan (Anna Brewster) and the Princess Henriette (Noémie Schmidt) - who just happens to be the rather unfulfilled bride of his sibling. Philippe, meantime, is enjoying a life of frills, shoes, booze and having a lively relationship with the Chevalier de Lorraine (Evan Williams). As the plots thicken we move to a second series that, with the characters all pretty much defined now, sees the younger brother determined to do something just a bit more meaningful with his life, and he assumes command of the army as it starts to battle the ambitions of William of Orange (George Webster). Plots and intrigues at home and abroad keep the plot moving along well enough and into a third series that rather loses it's impetus for the character of Louis but does offer Philippe half a dozen episodes as he stumbles upon a man in an iron mask. Who could it be - and what does "Bontemps" know about it all? Simultaneously, public unrest is growing and the hitherto loyal "Marehal" is beginning to wonder if he's on the right side. On balance, Vlahos probably does rather better as his persona has much more meat on it's bones, but Blagden is competent enough in his regal role and there is quite a solid supporting cast of regulars and guests - including Greta Scacchi, the always maniacal Ned Dennehy, Ken Bones as a manipulative Cardinal, Jessica Clark's long suffering and quite shrewd Princess Palatine (Philippe's second wife) and Catherine Walker as the ambitious "Maintenon". The attention to detail, costumes and sets is easily the stuff of big budget Hollywood and the writing, though a bit stolid at times, delivers a cleverly woven series of intricate tales of duplicity, treason, peril, romance and sex amidst a precarious political environment dominated by two brothers who didn't always see eye to eye. It does end rather abruptly, so clearly season four was never on the cards - but it's still an enjoyable romp through French history at a time when the Sun King was at his full pomp.