Canneseries Adds ‘Maxima,’ the Dutch Royal Drama From Beta Film, Millstreet Films

Germany’s Beta Film (“Babylon Berlin”) sets its sights on the Croisette for the world premiere of Dutch Royal drama “Máxima,” selected to screen out-of-competition at Canneseries on April 9. In tow, Delfina Chaves (“The Secret of the Greco Family”), who portrays the titular character in the series that Variety recently likened to Emmy-Award-Winning Netflix Drama “The Crown.”

Teased at last month’s London TV Screenings, the six-part drama series unravels the love story between then Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander (Martijn Lakemeier) and his enigmatic Argentine love interest, Máxima, who goes on to become Queen, at his side. 

Her future fraught with whispers of her father’s political connection to Argentina’s brutal dictatorship, she’s tasked with circumventing harsh truths to remain faithful to her destiny in the narrative that follows her through her formative years.

“You don’t have to know Máxima and the Dutch royal family to enjoy the show. It’s a great drama, fun to watch and a real highlight of our slate this year, ”Justus Riesenkampff, EVP Nordics & Benelux at Beta Film, told Variety in February.

Directed by Saskia Diesing alongside Joosje Duk and Iván López Núñez, the script was adapted by Marnie Blok, Ilse Ott, Judith Goudsmit, Diede Zillinger Molenaar, Sytske Kok and Marcela Guerty from the biography ‘Máxima Zorreguieta: Motherland,’ written by Dutch journalist Marica Luyten and published by De Bezige Bij. 

New York, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium acted as primary locations for the exhaustive summer shoot that saw Argentina represented by Europe, which most closely mimicked the grand architecture of Buenos Aires.

Sebastian Koch (“The Lives of Others”), Elsie de Brauw (“The Death of My Mother”), Valeria Alonso (“Tell Me Who I Am”), Daniel Freire (“Sex and Lucía”) and Ivan Lapadula (“Dos Vidas”) round out the ensemble cast. 

The series was produced by Rachel van Bommel of Millstreet Films and co-produced by FBO and Beta Film, with the support of the Dutch Film Fund Production Incentive, the Creative Europe MEDIA program and the Belgian Tax Shelter. 

Beta touts prior sales that include Warner Bros. Discovery for Latin America, Germany’s RTL, Croatia’s HRT, ORF for Austria, Israel’s HOT, Latvia’s LV1 and Slovakia.  “Máxima” will be available on RTL Netherlands streamer Videoland from April 20.