The Empress is a 2022 drama series streamed on Netflix on September 22, 2022, and ever since its release, it has gotten the eyes of everyone who loves the core and background of the Victorian Era and royalty. The Drama series is created by Katharina Eyessen and Lena Stahl and is produced by Jochen Laube and Fabian Maubach. The show is a German historical drama primarily and is also known as Die Kaiserin in Deutsch.
The historical piece of drama stars Devrim Lingnau, Philip Froissant, Melika Foroutan, Johannes Nussbaum, Almila Bagriacik, and Svenja Yung. The series, in its first season, has a total of six episodes, each taking the audience through the life and events of an empress Elisabeth Von Austria who navigates through her majestic life as an Empress, facing hardships in the pursuit of love and making crucial decisions as a monarch.
The series upholds the soft backgrounds and accents of the period with a great display of the style of living in the form of dialogues, costumes, and the customs shown in the show. This makes a worthy watch for someone who has always admired historical and period dramas.
The Empress: A Brief Background
The plot follows the story of a sixteen-year-old duchess named Elisabeth (played by Lingnau). Elisabeth is an elegant and tremendously beautiful girl who falls in love with Emperor Franz Joseph. Franz was the intended fiancé of her sister, Helene.
Later as the series proceeds, Elisabeth marries Franz, and, later, she finds herself tangled in a weave of family politics and rule. She navigates through the complexities of a powerful royal family as she navigates to safeguard her interests from the scheming family of her husband.
We also see the power struggle between Franz and his younger brother Maximillion to see who is more worthy to rule the kingdom. Elisabeth also faces a bitter clash with her mother-in-law Sophia and makes her best to keep the turbulent situations under her control as she maintains her position as an empress.
The storyline keeps the audience wanting to know more about the historical events that took place in the past, and the screenplay makes it more amusing for us to watch.
Is The Empress Based On A True Event?
Yes, Netflix’s The Empress is based on a true historical event. The series is based on the early life of the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, otherwise also known as Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria. Born on December 24th, 1837, at a very young age, she was known for her beauty and was even considered one of the most beautiful women of her time.
The Series, in actuality, follows the early years of the Duchess as she navigates through her personal affairs. Most of the series is factually accurate, making it even more interesting to watch. From the point of cinematography, the romance between Franz and Elisabeth has been shown in a greater and more romanticized light to give the show a more feel-good turn.
But the show at the same time, the show displays information and eventual details of the occurrences of the real events. So indeed, The Empress is based on a true event and is mostly factually accurate as well.
Who was Elisabeth Von Austria?
She was born in the royal House of Wittelsbach and was nicknamed Sisi or Sissi. She married Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria at the age of sixteen in 1854. She gave birth to four children, three daughters and a son who later became the crown prince of Austria. Her eldest daughter Sophie passed away as an infant at the age of two itself.
As the years proceeded, she was known for her more so troublesome nature, stress, and mental disturbances as she became an avid topic for gossip. At a very young she was thrust into the politics of anarchy and was known for obsessively maintaining her beauty and youth.
The death of the crown prince Rudolfin in January of 1898 was a huge blow to her well-being and deteriorating health which she couldn’t recover from. She was assassinated a few months in September in Geneva, Switzerland, by a man named Lucheni.
She was the longest-serving Austrian Empress, with a tenure of 40 years. The reality of one of the most beautiful women of her time is known to be a tragic one as the curtain unfolds.
