HBO Max’s new French-language series The Seduction reimagines Dangerous Liaisons as an 18th-century #MeToo prequel with a feminist twist, director Jessica Palud told AFP.
Based on Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s 1782 novel about ex-lovers who manipulate fellow aristocrats for sport, the story has been adapted many times—from Stephen Frears’s 1988 film starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich to 1999’s Cruel Intentions, set in modern New York.
Premiering this week at The American French Film Festival in Los Angeles before streaming on HBO Max on Nov. 14, the six-episode series explores the early life of the Marquise de Merteuil, tracing how a humiliated young woman becomes a cunning and liberated widow.
“She won’t let herself be pushed around or tolerate this incredibly masculine world. She wants to break all the rules,” Palud said.
Franco-Romanian actress Anamaria Vartolomei (Mickey 17) stars as Isabelle Dassonville, a devout commoner deceived by the Viscount de Valmont (Vincent Lacoste) into a fake marriage. After he vanishes, she rises through society to exact revenge, enduring abuse, an attempted assault, and a secret abortion along the way.
“Ultimately, little has changed for women,” Vartolomei said. “It’s timeless because it’s still relevant, unfortunately.”
Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) plays Valmont’s aunt, reimagined as a manipulative mentor teaching Isabelle how to wield power in a libertine world. “Seduction is nothing. You must learn to control men,” she tells her.
Palud said the women’s relationship adds “modernity” to the tale. “It’s a bit like the 18th-century MeToo,” she said. The series portrays sex as a means of power and reputation at the king’s court, drawing parallels to the ruthless dynamics of social media today.
The story eventually meets the events of the original novel. Drawn to each other yet unwilling to surrender their freedom, the marquise and the viscount risk self-destruction.
“We see them as heroes because they seem brave and powerful,” Vartolomei said. “But deep down they’re failures—afraid to confront their own souls. Maybe that absurdity still resonates today.”
