WATERTOWN, NY (March 17, 2025) – Return to Versailles with MARIE ANTOINETTE, Season 2 – a drama fit for queen! Premiering Sundays, March 23 – May 11, 2025, 10:00-11:00 pm on WPBS-TV and PBS. The period drama continues to chronicle the life of one of history’s most influential and controversial figures. Emilia Schüle (“Berlin Dance School”) returns as the title character, Marie Antoinette, and Louis Cunningham (“Bridgerton”) reprises his role as Louis XVI. The series, a CANAL+ Creation Originale in association with CAPA Drama (Newen Studios), Banijay Studios France, and Beside Productions, invites audiences to peek behind the curtain of the personal and political life of the last Queen of France.
MARIE ANTOINETTE Season 2 sees Antoinette and Louis facing unprecedented challenges at the height of their power. As financial crises loom across the nation and political rivalries intensify, the royal couple must navigate an increasingly hostile court and a changing France. From Versailles to the Palais Royal, the seeds of a revolution began to take root, threatening the very foundations of France’s long-standing monarchy.
The ensemble cast includes Freya Mavor, Jack Archer (“Call the Midwife”), Jasmine Blackborow (“Shadow and Bone”), Oscar Lesage (“Dangerous Liaisons”), Crystal Shepherd-Cross (“Chronicles of the Sun”), Roxane Duran (“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”), Caroline Piette (“Beats Per Minute”) and others.
“We are so excited that PBS’s audience will get to see the anticipated second season of MARIE ANTOINETTE,” says Maria Bruno Ruiz, Vice President, Program Content Strategy and Scheduling at PBS. “The tension in Season 2 builds with each episode as we experience the beginning of the end for King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. The French debt is increasing with more loans, the Affair of the Diamond Necklace is scandalous, and the inner circle of Versailles is closing in on king and queen. Season 2 features incredible talent and storytelling along with spectacular breathtaking costumes and set designs that take viewers right inside the walls of the Palace of Versailles.”
EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS
Episode One “The Worst Winter” – Sunday, March 23, 2025 at 10 PM Marie Antoinette and Louis embrace modern rule, but enemies lurk everywhere, even in Versailles.
Episode Two “A Poison Pen” – Sunday, March 30, 2025 at 10 PM Marie Antoinette’s affair with Fersen reignites–could it be part of a carefully orchestrated plot?
Episode Three “Treacherous Legacy – Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 10 PM The people of Paris openly protest against Marie Antoinette as she protects her unborn child.
Episode Four “The Pursuit of Happiness – Sunday, April 13, 2025 at 10 PM Marie Antoinette overhauls her image, and the King and Queen find happiness when they experience a taste of “ordinary” life.
Episode Five “Enemies Assemble” – Sunday, April 20, 2025 at 10 PM When Marie Antoinette is implicated in the diamond necklace theft, she is determined to prove her innocence and punish those responsible.
Episode Six “Hated, Humbled, Mortified”- Sunday, April 27, 2025 at 10 PM As the public trial begins, events quickly spiral out of Marie Antoinette and Louis’s control.
Episode Seven “Madame Deficit” – Sunday, May 4, 2025 at 10 PM Marie Antoinette deals with personal grief. Political turmoil, a struggling economy, and personal attacks push Louis toward a nervous breakdown.
Episode Eight “The End of the Beginning” Sunday, May 11, 2025 at 10 PM Amid the revolution’s advance, Marie Antoinette struggles to support Louis’s rule. When he succumbs to depression, she steps up to rule in his place.
MARIE ANTOINETTE Season 2 will be available to stream on wpbstv.org, as well as on all station-branded PBS platforms including PBS.org, and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast, and VIZIO, as well as PBS Passport and with PBS Masterpiece on Prime Video.
WPBS members can view the new season early – Binge all eight episodes of this series starting on the night of its broadcast premiere with WPBS Passport. WPBS Passport is a member benefit that provides you with extended access to an on-demand library of quality public television programming. Learn more about WPBS Passport at: watch.wpbstv.org/passport/learn-more.
Viewers can catch up on Season 1 of MARIE ANTOINETTE on wpbstv.org, PBS.org, the PBS App, and with PBS Masterpiece on Prime Video. For more information, visit pbs.org/pressroom.
MARIE ANTOINETTE was created by Deborah Davis (“The Favourite”) and directed by Edward Bazalgette (episodes 1-4) and Raf Reyntjens (episodes 5-8). The series is a CANAL+ Creation Originale produced by CAPA Drama, Banijay Studios France, Beside Productions, MARIE ANTOINETTE, Season 2 is executive produced by Claude Chelli, Stéphanie Chartreux, Margaux Balsan, and Louise Ironside. Banijay Rights handles international distribution for Marie Antoinette and secured the agreement with PBS Distribution for the series.
About WPBS
WPBS is a PBS station serving approximately 600,000 households throughout Northern New York and Eastern Ontario via cable, satellite, Internet and over-the-air distribution. WPBS is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and inspire diverse communities with exceptional and trusted content across multiple platforms. Its vision is to be the premier provider of relevant public service media that instills wonder and curiosity across generations and cultures. More information about WPBS, including a full channel listing, is available at wpbstv.org, or by following WPBS on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Download the free WPBS Mobile App to follow WPBS on the go.
