Most events are far from truth but this serie deserves a 10 only for Versailles itself, you are instantly dropped in the middle of 1600 together with King Luis and his court, ambience, fashion, a great work is done everything is just magnificent!!

I love these big historical mini-series that seem to go on forever. And I prefer the straight historical ones to those with a supernatural bent. King Louis XIV of France, The Sun King (George Blagden), has anything but a sunny disposition. He is surrounded by enemies especially the nobility of France. His single-minded vision is to build a magnificent palace at Versailles to upset the powerbase of the nobles in Paris. They aren't happy and plot endlessly against him. However Louis has the perfect hit man in his chief of police, Fabien Marchal (Tyhg Runyan). He makes Joe Pesci in "Casino" seem like a mere prankster. His hammer wielding DIY interrogation of a couple of Spanish spies is wince-inducing.There were complaints about the violence in the series, but there were actually more about the nudity and sex scenes. All these historical series have plenty of those: "The Borgias", "Da Vinci's Demons", "Rome" etc. I put it down to identifying the activities people enjoyed most back then.There were no iPhones, PlayStations, Internet or Netflix in 1667, and there were just so many harpsichord concertos one could take in. Naturally they were bound to be tugging at each other's bodice lacings and pantaloons.Louis' court is full of beautiful people including Claudine Masson (Lizzie Brocheré) who becomes the King's physician. She risks being burned at the stake because back in the day, bone saws and leaches for bleeding were strictly men's business. And then there is the King's brother, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (Alexander Vlahos). Philippe has gender issues; although he is not sure which strategy to employ in the bedroom, he is an able strategist on the battlefield. There is intrigue all over the place and quite a few shocks. Anyway, whenever things start to lag, off come those bodices. If I have a reservation it is that the main characters are not all that lovable; megalomania is not a particularly endearing trait. However, despite the occasional too-modern snatch of dialogue, this good-looking, well-researched series got me in. Now I'm looking forward to the third season.

I am amazed by this series and so glad I found it on Netflix. I verified that Louis' brother Phillipe was openly gay. The men in this series are as pretty as the women! I am quite puzzled by the scoring however. It has an ethereal quality, almost as if it were a film of mystery, intrigue or horror. I am just on episode four of the series, and I will certainly continue watching, but I wondered if anyone else finds the score a bit misplaced.

It's a typical Canal+ production: * filmed in English (presumably to help it sell, but sells less than Le Bureau des légendes filmed in French), I find this ridiculous; * many historical errors: Louvoie has the same age as Louis XIV (very young), Colbert completely absent while he is the most important minister (but not the "Prime minister" a term never used at that time) not Louvoie, Louvoie never ambitioned the throne or any such thing; * esthetical mistakes: Louis XIV was not so handsome, didn't have such nice hair (he lost them eraly due to disease, hence the wigs), his wife the Queen was not a slender dark lady but she was a rather short,plump, blonde! * the story of the Queen having a black child has not historical basis (a malevolent rumor), trustworthy witnesses discount it completely, but I understand Canal+ loves this * and of course, gay sex.