Heads up, fans of “Victoria,” “The Crown,” and Starz’s Philippa Gregory series: another show about a trailblazing female monarch is on the way. Deadline confirms that Allison Pataki’s best-selling novels about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, “The Accidental Empress” and “Sisi: Empress on Her Own,” are being developed for television. Picture Perfect Federation and Federation Entertainment acquired rights to the books.
The as-yet untitled TV project “will be a thoroughly female driven period piece with a modern spin,” the source details. “It’s about a strong woman’s journey to accept and embrace her power in order to make her mark and live on her own terms in a male dominated world. Wide in scope with rich period details, this premium drama spanning from 1853 up until the start of World War I will offer a captivating glimpse into the bedrooms and staterooms of one of history’s most intriguing eras and Europe’s most powerful royal family,” it adds.
Pataki is exec producing alongside MAS Production. Picture Perfect Federation will oversee worldwide distribution.
The “Princes Diana of her time,” the Empress, known as Sisi, was born in 1837. As Duchess in Bavaria, she received a fairly normal upbringing, but her marriage as a teenager to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria thrust her into the vicious and restricting Habsburg court. Making matters even more complicated, Franz Joseph was originally betrothed to Sisi’s sister. Sisi eventually came into her own as a ruler, and was instrumental in building the dual Austria-Hungary monarchy. She was assassinated in 1898 at the age of 60. The Empress’ story has previously been told on stage and screen, including the 1955 German film “Sissi.”
“We are extremely excited to partner with Allison and [MAS’ Michael Shamberg] to treat audiences to the inspiring life story of Empress Elisabeth,” said Picture Perfect’s Patrick Wachsberger. “Sisi was a woman ahead of her time and indelibly made her mark with dignity and grace.”
A former journalist and producer, Pataki has written for The New York Times, ABC News, The Huffington Post, and more. Her other books include novels “The Traitor’s Wife” and “Where the Light Falls” — set during the American Revolution and French Revolution, respectively — and memoir “Beauty in the Broken Places.”
