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2025 / Period intrigue drama / Created by Jean-Baptiste Delafon
Isabelle turns exclusion into an ambition to control the game.
What is Merteuil about?
After a humiliating betrayal, Isabelle seeks a place among the powerful social circles of eighteenth-century Paris. This Dangerous Liaisons-inspired drama approaches the future Marquise de Merteuil through ambition, desire and the effort to turn social vulnerability into influence.
Five things to know.
The starting situation
After a humiliating betrayal, Isabelle seeks a place among the powerful social circles of eighteenth-century Paris.
The world around it
Parisian elite society makes reputation and seduction instruments of power, placing social position at the center of Isabelle’s starting circumstances.
The central pressure
Isabelle’s ambition develops in a world with strict expectations for women, where recognition and dependency can become closely entangled.
The creative approach
Jean-Baptiste Delafon creates the series and Jessica Palud directs, with Anamaria Vartolomei, Diane Kruger, Vincent Lacoste and Lucas Bravo starring.
Before episode one
HBO Max also presents the series as The Seduction; it is a story inspired by Dangerous Liaisons, not a separate contemporary dating drama.
A thought to take with you.
Isabelle’s starting position makes social power feel like something to acquire rather than something to inherit. The question is what that ambition asks her to treat as a tool.
Is it your kind of series?
Try it for an adult period drama about desire, status and manipulation. Expect a literary-inspired world of social intrigue rather than documentary history.
Three ideas to take with you.
- Reputation can function as a form of social currency.
- A desire for influence can begin in exclusion.
- Intimacy becomes complicated when it is tied to status.
Before you press play.
What is Merteuil about?
After a humiliating betrayal, Isabelle seeks a place among the powerful social circles of eighteenth-century Paris. This Dangerous Liaisons-inspired drama approaches the future Marquise de Merteuil through ambition, desire and the effort to turn social vulnerability into influence.
Who is behind Merteuil?
Created by Jean-Baptiste Delafon. Jean-Baptiste Delafon creates the series and Jessica Palud directs, with Anamaria Vartolomei, Diane Kruger, Vincent Lacoste and Lucas Bravo starring.
What kind of series is Merteuil?
Period intrigue drama. Try it for an adult period drama about desire, status and manipulation. Expect a literary-inspired world of social intrigue rather than documentary history.
Sources & scope
This AI-assisted brief draws on the linked descriptions and production information. Facts and interpretation are separated; it does not claim personal viewing or independent expert review.
Source details checked October 6, 2026. Suggest a correction · Our editorial approach