Turns out James Beaufort took lessons in love from Mr Darcy.
Well, maybe not quite, but the BBC’s classic 1995 series Pride and Prejudice did influence the romantic arc of Prime Video’s young adult hit Maxton Hall – The World Between Us, it was revealed here at Seriesly Berlin in Germany today.
Marlene Melchior, who was among the writers on Seasons 1 and 2 of the UFA Fiction series, outlined the intriguing love connection. Noting that even Greta Gerwig’s Barbie had referenced the BBC series, Melchior revealed how Pride and Prejudice‘s archetypal romantic beats informed Season 1 and made it a simpler task than penning its follow-up, which is launching on November 7.
“The first season was an easier season to adapt, as it’s quite easy to see how it follows a classic romance structure like Pride and Prejudice,” she said. The BBC show shot Colin Firth, who played Mr. Darcy, on the road to stardom, and also starred the likes of Jennifer Ehle, Alison Steadman and Julia Sawalha.
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“I’m a huge fan of the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice; the act breaks are so, so good. You have to see it if you’re going to write romance. When we were looking at the structure, I suggested we follow it as much as we could, because they’re such similar set-ups. Every different generation has a way of making something saucy.”
Maxton Hall follows Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten), a girl from a humble background who wins a scholarship to an elite British college, and her relationship with uber-privileged heir James Beaufort (Damian Hardung).
Melchior co-wrote Season 1 alongside lead writer Daphne Ferraro, Marc Schießer, Zoe Hagen, Nina Rathke, Anna Schimrigk and Juliana Lima Dehne, under exec producers Ceylan Yildirim and Markus Brunnemann. Yildirim, Dehne and Melchior led a slimmed-down Season 2 writing team.
The writing team were kept in the dark about the show’s Seaons 1 success, as it became the biggest international original series for Prime Video. “We didn’t actually know Season 1 had worked so well when we were writing Season 2, as it wasn’t out yet, but Amazon thought it matched a lot things it was looking for,” said Melchior. “It was obvious Amazon was giving us support with marketing, and that was our one clue it was working so well.”
Not much is known about Season 2 except it will follow how James attempts to win back Ruby’s heart. Asked about how Season 2 develops the Maxton story, Melchior was coy, noting she couldn’t reveal much more before it launches globally on Prime Video.
However, the Berlin-based writer did say: “Levelling up Season 2 was a lot about James’ journey. It also opens much more into the other characters and their journeys as well. It was interesting to see how we could keep the balance of something that has worked so much – the extreme chemistry of Damian and Harriett – and make sure it opens up into the other characters.”
In August, we revealed Dagny Dewath, Proschat Madani, Anna Lucia Gustmann, Basil Eidenbenz, Laura de Boer, Kiro Ebra and Gina Henkel had joined the cast. Sonja Weißer, Ben Felipe, Fedja van Huêt, Runa Greiner, Justus Riesner, Andrea Guo, Frederic Balonier and Eli Riccardi were already announced as returning.
Season 3 of Maxton Hall is currently shooting in Germany.