Elisabeth of Austria, better known as “Sissi”, is not only a myth, but has long been a commercial product. This is proven by a handful of adaptations that deal with the life of the world-famous empress. While the “Sissi” trilogy with Romy Schneider is a real cultural asset in Germany and is shown on free TV every year, various other current formats prove that interest in the material just doesn’t want to wane.
At the end of last year, the streaming service RTL+ launched its own series called “Sisi” – and has already announced a second season. On July 7, 2022, the historical drama “Corsage” will start in German cinemas, in which Vicky Krieps slips into the role of Elisabeth to do away with the sweet Sis(s)i clichés. But that’s not all: Netflix is now also getting involved in what is happening and is delivering its very own mini-series on the subject with “The Empress”.
The first trailer shows that “The Empress” will not only be about the iconic love story between Elisabeth (Devrim Lingnau) and Franz (Philip Froissant). The series will also revolve around the political situation in which the young ruling couple is involved. We will know on September 29, 2022 whether this will end up being atmospheric, because then the six-part series will be available on Netflix.
Katrin Gebbe (who staged a disturbing highlight from Germany with “Pelikanblut” last year) and Florian Cossen (“Das Lied in mir”) are responsible for the production of “The Empress”. In addition to Devrim Lingnau and Philip Froissant, Melika Foroutan is also in front of the camera (“Tribes Of Europe”)Johannes Nussbaum (“Hannes”)Almila Bagriacik (“4 Blocks”) and Wiebke Puls (“Final Trip”) to see. Katharina Eyssen acts as showrunner and author.
With “The Empress” Netflix tries to take on the well-known story about Empress Elisabeth, but at the same time to go a new way. According to the Netflix press release, the focus should be on “the inner turmoil of this young woman who fights for her individual freedom between tradition and courtly conventions and was thus far ahead of her time”.
