In “The Empress,” Netflix sheds light on one of history's most beloved, enigmatic, and ultimately tragic royals, Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Elisabeth (Devrim Linnau) marries Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph (Philippe Froissart) at the age of 16 and struggles to adapt to the harsh constraints of court life.
“The Empress” has become one of Netflix's most popular foreign-language shows since its initial release in 2022, with season two premiering in late November. If, like many other viewers, you enjoy watching Sisi find her place in the political machinations of Austria's elite, here are a few other shows like “Empress” that may be worth watching after you're done watching season 2.
Like Empress Elisabeth, Catherine de Medici (Samantha Morton) married into a foreign court as a teenager and was expected to find her own footing among the opportunistic courtiers. But as we see in Starz's (a network that is becoming a mecca for feminist period drama) “The Serpent Queen,” Catherine grows up to be more than a match for the Machiavellian courtiers around her and wields great political power herself.
What is being taught here is that when you put yourself in a den of snakes, you can only become a viper. Morton brings a shrewd intelligence to the lead role that captivated audiences throughout the two seasons of The Serpent Queen.
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Sisi is not the first young woman to be pulled away from her quiet life in the countryside and thrown into a simmering pot of political intrigue. In My Lady Jane, the famously ill-fated Lady Jane Grey (Emily Bader) gets a chance to rewrite her own tragic history. She is called the Nine Days Queen, helplessly ascends to the throne, and is to be executed for treason in less than two weeks. But that doesn't sound like much fun.
With a dash of historical revisionism, “My Lady Jane” combines a period setting and a modernist approach to storytelling, putting a twist on a familiar tale and making it engaging, creative, and unabashedly enjoyable. Although the show was sadly prematurely terminated, fans can take solace in the fact that it produced one nearly flawless season.
Watch on Prime Video
Shows like “The Empress” strive to maintain historical accuracy. Some shows, like “The Greatest,” also use history as a jumping-off point.
This show on Hulu depicts a young and naive Ekaterina (not yet an empress) embarking on a marriage to the crude, sex-crazed, and often violent Peter III. She believes she can lead her newly adopted kingdom into the Age of Enlightenment, but that is, of course, before she meets the Russian court. With career-best performances from stars Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, who provide simmering chemistry and magical comedic timing, “The Great” makes history sexy, hilarious, and shocking.
Watch on Hulu
Who knew there were so many teenage girls on the throne across Europe? Reign takes on the chaotic political career of Mary, Queen of Scots, whose romantic relationships, unconventional behavior, and the fact that she was a quasi-legitimate claimant to the English throne (which her cousin Queen Elizabeth did not like) got her into trouble.
Over the course of the CW's four seasons of the show, we watch Mary (Adelaide Kane) go through her first marriage to Prince Francis of France (Toby Legbo) and eventually return to Scotland as its ruler. Between these two countries and their various romantic entanglements, “Reign” provides all the intrigue anyone could wish for.
Watch on Prime Video
Each season of “The Crown” is worth watching, but if you like “The Empress,” you will get a lot out of the season featuring Princess Diana. Before Princess Diana was crowned “Princess of the People,” there was Empress Elisabeth, who played a similar role in the Austrian Empire under her husband's reign.
Much of Sisi's conflict with her husband's family, especially as seen in the second season of The Empress, stems from her attempts to establish a personal connection with the people. Emma Colin and Elizabeth Debicki as Diana portray her as a flawed but vulnerable and sympathetic figure in modern British history, much like Sisi.
Watch on Netflix
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