Romance dramashave been a solid bet for streaming, as consistent subgenres have emerged within the overall trend. There are period romances, notablyBridgertonon Netflix andThe Buccaneerson Apple TV+. There are ill-advised love triangles, as is the case withMy Life with the Walter Boysand Prime Video’sThe Summer I Turned Pretty. There is also an increasing turn towards examining toxic romances, such as with Hulu’sTell Me Liesand Netflix’s recent announcement of plans to adapt theTwisted Lovenovels.
International series are a category all their own, withSouth Korean romance dramasdelivering some of the best on-screen chemistry in recent years. However, given the global reach of streamers like Netflix and Prime Video, several other countries have also debuted originals that have built up strong viewership and garnered strong acclaim. One of those originals will soon be coming to an end.
The Empress Has Been Renewed
The Third Season Will Be Its Last
The Empressdebuted in September 2022. Created by Katharina Eyssen, with Devrim Lingnau in the titular role, the German drama isbased on the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Mixing a historical setting and romance, the series looks at how the Bavarian princess turned Austrian navigated life in the Habsburg royal court once she’d married the Emperor. Itwon the International Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Seriesin 2023, partly boosted by the strong chemistry between Lingnau and Philip Froissant who plays Franz Joseph, the Emperor of Austria.
The Empress Season 3: Confirmation, Cast & Everything We Know
Netflix’s historical drama series The Empress finally returned for its second season in 2024, and now the German production has scored a season 3.
Netflixhas confirmed thatThe Empresshas been renewed for a third and final season. The streamer mentioned in its press release that the romance drama stayed in Netflix’s Global Top charts in 84 countries, taking the top spot in 10 countries. It also mentioned thatMelika Foroutan and Johannes Nussbaum will be back, reprising their respective roles as Sophie and Maximilian. Lingnau and Frossiant will also return, as will Eyssen as showrunner.
Sommerhaus Serien GmbH, led by executive producers Jochen Laube and Fabian Maubach, is behind the production while Scarlett Lacey returns as executive producer.
Along with the confirmations about the returningEmpresscast, Elyssen shared a statement about the renewal alongside executive producer Robert Eyssen. Katja Hofem, the Vice President of Content DACH at Netflix, also reacted, as did producer Jochen Laube. Their quotes are included below:
Katharina Elyssen: “It sometimes leaves me speechless to see how many people we have been able to reach and touch all over the world with The Empress. To be able to continue and conclude this story together with our team and the unique ensemble cast is nothing less than a gift.”
Robert Elyssen: “Our aim has always been to create a series on an international level, and that, of course, continues to be our aim for the third season!”
Hofem:“The audience has followed Empress Elisabeth’s life through happy, exciting and dramatic times in the last two seasons. How wonderful that we can continue telling this story in a third season, with the wonderful team in front of and behind the camera and with Sommerhaus as our production partner.”
Laube: “At Sommerhaus it fills us with great joy that we can work together with Katharina Eyssen and Robert Eyssen as well as with the wonderful team from Netflix DACH on our series for yet another two years! We owe this to the outstanding work of hundreds of passionate people in all trades. It is a great privilege to be able to go into this third season with the commitment and quality of such a great team.”
