Alice Englert (“Beautiful Creatures,” “Ratched”) and Nicholas Denton (“Glitch,” “Pillars”) will star as Merteuil and Valmont in Starz’s “Dangerous Liaisons” TV series, the pay TV channel said Thursday, describing the show as “the story of a young woman who negotiates love, sex, class and power to navigate an oppressive, unjust establishment on the brink of collapse.”
Per Starz, “Dangerous Liaisons” is a bold reimagining of the iconic characters from Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ classic 18th century novel and tells the origin story of how the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont meet as passionate young lovers in Paris on the eve of revolution. Driven to right the wrongs of their past, we follow the couple as they rise from the slums of Paris and scale the heights of the French aristocracy, seducing and manipulating both the nobility and each other to survive.
Englert stars as Camille, a beautiful young woman from nowhere with a mysterious past who seeks revenge on the wealthy aristocrats who led her to ruin. Betrayed by her lover, Valmont, she turns heartbreak into empowerment as she strategizes to gain status, power and freedom.
Denton plays her lover Pascal Valmont, driven to regain the title and status stolen from him by his stepmother after his father’s death. Without status or money, he must seduce and blackmail to get what he wants, even if it risks losing the one he loves most – Camille.
Starz’s “Dangerous Liaisons” is created and written by Harriet Warner (“Tell Me Your Secrets,” “Call the Midwife”) who executive produces alongside Playground’s Colin Callender (“Wolf Hall,” “Howards End”), Tony Krantz (“24,” “Blood & Oil”) for Flame Ventures, Bethan Jones (“Les Misérables,” “Sherlock”), Scott Huff (“The Spanish Princess,” “The Missing”) and Christopher Hampton (“The Father,” “Atonement”).
Coline Abert (“Les Revenants”), James Dormer (“Medici”) and Rita Kalnejais (“Babyteeth”) will serve as writers on the series alongside Warner. Leonora Lonsdale (“The Pale Horse”) will direct the first four episodes of the season.
The drama is produced for Starz by Lionsgate Television and Playground.
“Dangerous Liaisons” will air on Starz in the U.S. and Canada and on streaming platform Starzplay across Europe, Latin America, and Japan.