The Empress is a Period Drama You're Not Watching (But Totally Should)
Meet the hit show you never knew existed.
As one of the largest streaming services in the world, Netflix has millions of daily viewers and offers a broad range of hugely popular shows like Squid Games, Stranger Things, and Heartstopper. However, the vast amount of content the streaming behemoth offers means that some projects quickly fade into obscurity as new hits crowd them out on the platform. The Empress seems to be the most striking example of this phenomenon.
This German show became one of the most popular non-English shows on Netflix in 2022, yet many people have already forgotten about it. That is a great shame, considering the artistic values this period drama brings to the table. The love story between Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth of Austria is presented with a distinctly modern sensibility, making the show feel even more unique among the plethora of projects that follow various royals.
Many people began comparing The Empress to Bridgerton as soon as the German show premiered its first season. However, it quickly became clear that this was a much more mature and serious series than the Shonda Rhimes-created hit, and before long, this German gem of a show had found a loyal audience in the English-speaking world.
Now, the problem is that even though The Empress is a great show, it's still a Netflix project, meaning that some people didn't like it just because of its vibe and production style. Netflix shows are just different and for some people, it's just not their cup of tea. And when people expect not to like something, confirmation bias kicks in, and they start noticing details they would probably not have even noticed if they didn't know it was a Netflix production.
'Got into a few episodes, but it went too soapy for me. The costumes became a haute couture fashion show, love that normally but it was jarring for a period drama – there was even an episode where the costume dept had to coordinate everyone in blue/yellow!' a fan explained.
It would appear the biggest beef some fans have with the show is its over-the-top production designs, which, according to some, can break the immersion spell, but given the chance, The Empress can really impress you as a great period drama.
Source: Reddit.