HBO Max’s Spicy French-Language Drama ‘The Seduction’ Gets Trailer

“Welcome to this delicious hell that is high society,” warns the ominous voiceover at the start of trailer for HBO Max drama series The Seduction.

The French-language reworking of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ thought-provoking 18th century novel ‘Les Liaisons Dangereuses’ debuts on HBO on Friday, November 14. Episodes will roll out weekly.

The show tells the story of Marquise de Merteuil (Anamaria Vartolomei), who embarks on a daring journey to become Paris’ leading courtesan after being betrayed by libertine Vicomte de Valmont (Vincent Lacoste). It has previously been described as “a free adaptation” of Laclos’s steamy novel and “an exploration of the price of emotional and sexual freedom — in a world where women had little.”

The trailer shows glimpses of how scheming Merteuil and Valmont plan to destroy each other and their Parisian high society lives, as viewers are told, “Desire is a weapon… Power is everything. As the HBO logline goes, ‘To be the hero of your own story, you sometimes have to be the villain in others.’

Starring alongside Vartolomei and Lacoste are Diane Kruger as Madame de Rosemonde, Lucas Bravo as Comte de Gercourt, Noée Abita as Madame de Tourvel, Julien de Saint-Jean as Louis de Germain, Fantine Harduin as Cécile de Volanges, Samuel Kircher as Chevalier Danceny, and Sandrine Blancke as Madame de Volanges.

In France, the show will go by its original title. Jean-Baptiste Delafon is the creator, with Jessica Palud directing. Delafon writes in collaboration on certain episodes with Palud and and Gaëlle Bellan. UGC Group’s NABI Productions is making the show.

Previous adaptations of Laclos’s novel include the Stephen Frears period drama from 1988, which was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and teen drama Cruel Intentionswhich starred Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe in a modern reimagining.

Here are some new images from The Seduction.