The new fiction series is a collaboration between Palomar and DEMD Productions, in association with Rai Fiction, France Televisions, Mediawan Rights and Entourage Ventures
The Count of Monte Cristo returns as a TV series by production companies Palomar and DEMD Productions, financed by a group of partners that includes Rai Fiction, France Televisions, Mediawan Rights and Entourage Ventures.
The new series began shooting, which will run until mid-December, in France, Italy and Malta.
At the helm of The Count of Monte Cristo is the Danish director Bille August, awarded the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Festival for Pelle the Conqueror.
British actor Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Hunger Games, Peaky Blinders, Daisy Jones, etc.) plays the iconic Edmond Dantes.
The cast also includes Ana Girardot, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Blake Ritson, Karla-Simone Spence, Michele Riondino, Lino Guanciale, Gabriella Pession and Nicolas Maupas, among others.
According to the production companies, the director and producers of this project intend to “preserve the original richness of the story as a tribute to the literary legacy of Alexandre Dumas and, at the same time, create a deeply immersive experience, delving into the psychological depths, emotions and character motivations.
The modernization includes reconstructing the character of Haydée, originally a “frightened slave”, now imagined as “a brave and empowered woman”.
“The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the novels that means the most to me, and making a series based on this novel is a great professional achievement, especially having a great director like Bille August, capable of bringing modernity in the greatest possible way. of traditions, and a first-class actor like Sam Claflin,” said Carlo Degli Esposti, from Palomar. “It is also a great honor to make this series with DEMD and Mediawan, esteemed French colleagues. The challenge we want to overcome is to transfer a great classic from European literature to television fiction for the new generations”.
“The Monte Cristo project is extremely exciting because it embodies what Mediawan is able to imagine and build around an iconic IP carried by a prestigious cast. It is the result of the collaboration of two of the group’s most prolific production companies, Palomar in Italy and DEMD in France, whose experience and expertise are supported by our distribution division Mediawan Rights and our partner Entourage,” said Elisabeth d’Arvieu of Mediawan Pictures and Valérie Vleeschhouwer of Mediawan Rights. “It is a reflection of everything we do to foster talent and bring the most creative and ambitious international projects closer to the public.”
