The “Maxima” franchise, inspired by the life of Queen Máxima of the Netherlands and starring Delfina Chaves, is getting its first spin-off: “The Other Royals – A Maxima Story.”
In the meantime, Season 2 of “Maxima” will premiere locally on March 14, followed by an international rollout.
“In the second season, we introduced the Dutch royals a bit more, but we couldn’t use everything. We show [Princes] Friso of Orange-Nassau and Constantijn of the Netherlands yet we never delve into their stories. There was so much more to tell,” said producer Rachel van Bommel.
In the spin-off – “Even ‘Bridgerton’ has ‘Queen Charlotte – A Bridgerton Story’,” added van Bommel – the team will focus on Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau and Princess Margarita de Bourbon de Parme. In 1999, when the series begins, they both meet their future royal partners.
The five-hour series is produced by Millstreet Films in co-production with FBO and Beta Film. Claire Bender stars as Princess Mabel and Bram Suijker as Prince Friso. Saskia Diesing, director of “Maxima,” will direct with Hiba Vink.
“It stays true to the franchise because it’s still all about the female perspective,” added Justus Riesenkampff, Beta Film’s EVP Nordics & Benelux. Or simply about “human perspective,” noted van Bommel.
“If you give birth and then have to show yourself, and your child, to 17 million people, audiences can understand how that feels. They are royals, but they also have children who become teenagers, fall in love and sneak out of the house.”
Viewers may also appreciate the darker storylines in the spin-off.
“Mabel is introduced in the second season and then her journey is much more tragic than Maxima’s. This serves as a counterpoint. Maxima seems almost untouchable at times. Everything works out for her. Mabel and Margarita struggle much more. And that, again, is actually very human,” noted Riesenkampff.
Although it explores royal life, “Maxima” never loses sight of its Argentina-born protagonist.
“Sometimes, we use archives in the series. It helps, because you suddenly realize: ‘Oh, this actually happened.’ But because we stay so close to her, people see it more as an emotional journey than a period piece,” said van Bommel.
“We presented a special sneak preview in Miami and were told the audience really recognized themselves. They said: ‘We’re Hispanic, we’re immigrants and we feel for her.’ She’s moving to another country, trying to blend into this new culture. It’s a very universal and urgent story.”
“That’s one of the key reasons why ‘Maxima’ has been so successful internationally. It’s a really unique reinvention of the royal drama genre because it’s really about Maxima. We had to convince every network, every buyer and every audience member of that, and we have done it,” stressed Riesenkampff.
Still, the show is growing. With a third season already in development, it boasts some bigger scenes in the second, including the royal wedding.
“We start big and then end with a coronation [10 years later]. That was definitely the challenge, so we reached out to our makeup and wardrobe departments as soon as we started thinking about a second season. Many of these events were televised and they are in everyone’s collective memory. Of course, we couldn’t get the Valentino dress that Maxima wore, but they did an amazing job.”
“That’s the next step: what will their lives look like after the coronation? They will become king and queen, and it’s a whole new chapter in their lives.”
Riesenkampff added: “Many European producers wouldn’t even try to go there, but Rachel succeeded with a budget that others would say could only result in a ‘local’ show. It’s rare to produce something like this out of Europe. It’s a clear sign that you don’t need 100 million to make a series that works.”
What you do need, however, is plenty of collaborators willing to go the extra mile.
“The wedding takes place in a church right in the middle of Amsterdam. Normally, I would say: ‘We are not going there.’ In this case, the Amsterdam Public Department was working with us because everyone felt that it needed to be authentic. We couldn’t shoot in a studio,” said van Bommel.
“‘Maxima’ is a perfect example of how you can collaborate with different parties, from Beta Film to RTL. It doesn’t have to be just one streamer that greenlights something.”
Following “The Other Royals,” there might be even more to come.
““There are many opportunities for telling different stories in very different formats. It’s a really big family and there’s drama everywhere,” laughed van Bommel.
