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The Empress (TV series)

The Empress is a German historical drama television series based on the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, starring Devrim Lingnau as the empress and Philip Froissant as Franz Joseph I of Austria. It was released on Netflix on 29 September 2022 and became the network's second-most watched series worldwide for two weeks and the seventh most popular non-English series of 2022, with over 150 million hours streamed. On 8 November 2022, Netflix renewed it for a second season, which premiered on 22 November 2024. Netflix also commissioned a companion novel, The Empress: A Novel, by Gigi Griffis, which was published two days before the series premiered on the streaming service. On 27 January 2025, the series was renewed for a third and final season.

Premise
16-year-old Bavarian duchess Elisabeth "Sisi" von Wittelsbach falls in love with Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, the intended fiancé of her older sister, Duchess Helene, and they marry. Arriving in Vienna, Sisi finds herself navigating the complexity of court politics and her husband's scheming family. Her mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie, who is also her aunt, antagonises her almost immediately. Maximilian, Franz Joseph's younger brother, tries to outshine his brother and prove that he is more worthy to rule. ==Cast==
Cast
Introduced in Season 1Devrim Lingnau as Elisabeth "Sisi" von Wittelsbach, Duchess in Bavaria turned Empress of Austria • Philip Froissant as Franz Joseph I of AustriaMelika Foroutan as Sophie, Archduchess of Austria, Franz Joseph's mother and Elisabeth's aunt turned mother-in-law • Johannes Nussbaum as Archduke Maximilian, Franz Joseph's younger brother • Elisa Schlott as Duchess Helene "Néné" in Bavaria, Elisabeth's older sister (season 1) • Jördis Triebel as Ludovika, Duchess in Bavaria, Elisabeth's mother • Almila Bagriacik as Ava, a revolutionary posing as Countess Leontine von Apafi • Hanna Hilsdorf as Countess Amalia von Salm-Reifferscheidt, a lady-in-waiting who has dedicated her life to the Austrian empire (season 1) • Runa Greiner as Countess Charlotte von Stubenberg, a naïve lady-in-waiting who later becomes the matron of the empress's maid service • Svenja Jung as Countess Louise Gundemann (later Baroness von Sina), Franz Joseph's former lover • Andreas Döhler as Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria, Elisabeth's father • Wiebke Puls as Countess Sophie Esterházy, matron of the empress's maid service and Sophie's confidant (season 1) • Michael Fuith as Franz Karl, Archduke of Austria, Sophie's husband and Franz Joseph's supposed father, who becomes Elisabeth's father-in-law (season 1) • Felix Nölle as Archduke Ludwig Viktor "Luiwuzi" of Austria, Franz Joseph's younger brother • Martin Butzke as Gustav, Prince of Vasa, Sophie's former lover, who claims to be Franz Joseph's birth father (season 1) • Alexander Finkenwirth as Baron Alexander von Bach, Franz Joseph's interior minister and conservative advisor • Leopold Hornung as Count Karl Ferdinand von Buol, the foreign minister and a militaristic advisor • Patrick Rapold as the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt (season 1) • August Schmölzer as Joseph Othmar von Rauscher, Prince-Archbishop of Vienna and cardinal • Raymond Tarabay as François-Adolphe De Bourqueney, French ambassador (season 1) • Eric Bouwer as Dr. Fritsch, a maternity doctor • Irene Della Casa as Baronesse Francesca, Archduke Maximilian's lover at the start of the series (season 1) • Rauand Taleb as Theo, Emperor Franz Joseph's valet • Erol Nowak as Johann Baron Kempen von Fichtenstamm, the inspector general of the police (season 1) • Noëmi Emily Krausz as Countess Margarete von Lamberg, Archduchess Sophie's lady-in-waiting and closest confidant • Andreas Bongard as the Austrian composer Johann Strauss (season 1) • Vladimir Korneev as Alexander Nikolayevich, Grand Duke of Russia, son of Tsar Nicholas I (season 1) • Elzemarieke De Vos as Maria Alexandrovna, Grand Duchess of Russia, Alexander's wife (season 1) Introduced in Season 2 • Josephine Thiesen as Princess Charlotte Marie of Belgium, Archduke Maximilian's wife • Marlene Spakarowski as Archduchess Sophie "Fienchen" of Austria, Franz Joseph and Elisabeth's firstborn • Carla Hütterman as Countess Pauline von Bellegarde, Empress Elisabeth's lady-in-waiting • Christophe Favre as Emperor Napoleon III • Jérôme Pouly as Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont • Cornelius Schwalm as Dr. Johann Seeburger, Elisabeth's physician, who is constantly at odds with her • Alexander Beyer as Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria, Elisabeth's father (season 2) • Lena Geiseler as Duchess Maria Sophie "Mimi" in Bavaria, Elisabeth's younger sister • Mina Christ as Countess Gabriele von Metternich-Zichy, Princess Charlotte's lady-in-waiting • Leonie Euler as Baroness Caroline von Bransner, Princess Charlotte's lady-in-waiting • Rainer Haustein as Count Karl Ludwig von Grünne, Franz Joseph's chief military advisor • Alberto Vecchiato as Adolfo Tadini, an Italian revolutionary disguised as a dignitary • Matthias Matschke as Count Michael von Apafi, the father of the real Leontine von Apafi • Bernd Birkhahn as Field Marshal Josef Radetzky, Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia prior to Archduke Maximilian • Christian Bayer as General Ferenc József Gyulay, commander of the Austrian forces in Lombardy-Venetia • Asena Uzun as Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria, Elisabeth's youngest sister • Levi Oskar as Duke Maximillian Emanuel "Mapperl" in Bavaria, Elisabeth's youngest brother • Lorenzo Motta as Gino Tadini, Adolfo's younger brother and an ardent Italian revolutionary • Fabiana Chiorri as Giulia, Gino's girlfriend and fellow revolutionary • Marcello De Nardo as Count Giuseppe Marino, the head of the Lombardo-Venetian delegation ==Episodes==
Episodes
Season 1 (2022) Season 2 (2024) ==Production==
Production
Development In December 2020, Netflix announced it would start producing a six-part series with the working title The Empress, based on the life of the Austrian empress Elisabeth of Bavaria (nicknamed Sisi). It would be directed by Katrin Gebbe and Florian Cossen, with Bernd Lange and Janna Maria Nandzik writing. Devrim Lingnau and Philip Froissant were announced in the lead roles. Filming Filming for the first season began in August 2021 and was completed in January 2022. The series was filmed in German Exterior scenes of Sisi's childhood home were filmed at Eyrichshof Castle near Ebern, although the family's summer home was actually the nearby Possenhofen Castle. After Netflix renewed the series, filming for the second season began in Prague, Czechia, by September 2023. Additional filming was done in Zagreb, Croatia. Production on the third season began in Prague in September 2025. ==Reception==
Reception
The Empress debuted at number one following its release on 29 September 2022, with 47.2 million hours watched in four days (29 September to 2 October 2022), becoming Netflix's most-watched non English-language series for over a week. Within 11 days, it was running in approximately 18.7 million homes and was the second most-watched Netflix series worldwide (behind Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story), with 106.6 million hours streamed. The Empress is the most successful German original production on Netflix since the 2020 war drama Barbarians. and it was the seventh most popular non-English series of 2022, with five weeks in the global top 10 and 159,800,000 hours watched from 25 September to 30 October. ==Soundtrack==
Soundtrack
Season 1 Season 2 ==Creative liberties==
Creative liberties
• Elisabeth was stated to have brown eyes. Devrim Lingnau has blue eyes. • In the waltz scene featuring the composer Johann Strauss II, Franz Joseph and Sisi dance to the "Kaiser-Walzer". The waltz was composed by Strauss in 1889, 35 years after the royal couple married. • During the wedding that took place in 1854, people are dancing to Dvořák's "Serenade for Strings". It was composed in 1875. ==References==
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