Back to the complete issue
Sunday, 9 October 2022

The Empress: A slow-moving period drama that was quick to hook our attention

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Romance, politics, and powerful performances make The Empress a must-watch: Be still, our royal-drama-obsessed hearts, there’s a new period drama topping the Netflix charts. Unless you’re a serious European history buff, you probably don’t know much about Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie, an Austrian Duchess in the mid-nineteenth century. The new series based on her life makes it clear right away that she was an unconventional monarch, and we’re here for it. The Empress is a coming-of-age romance story at its core, but it’s also filled with political intrigue and the rumbles of a growing rebellion as evidenced in the first episode. Florian Cossen and Katrin Gebbe shape Elisabeth's life with deft grace, emphasizing the naivety that comes with being 16 years old while also carefully presenting the small horrors in her life. The Empress, like most costume dramas, is slow moving and takes its time developing but quickly hooks you with a compelling plot and intriguing possibilities.

Ditch the dubs, watch in Deutsch: We recommend watching the show in its original German with subtitles if you’re able to. The cast delivers stellar performances in their native tongue with a far superior delivery to English dubbing. If you’re a fan of The Crown, Bridgerton, and the political maneuvering of Game of Thrones, add The Empress to your stream list. The first season’s six episodes are available to watch on Netflix (watch trailer, runtime 1:58).

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.