Why was the second season of Dangerous Liaisons canceled? Continue reading to learn more.
All of the viewers who have tuned in to stream the episodes are now speculating as to whether this will be their last chance to watch this American historical drama. It is worth noting that the show has aroused the curiosity of viewers who want to learn more about the new themes and character arcs presented to the audience in this series. So, it is fair to ask about the franchise’s status. If you were looking forward to knowing more about the next chapter, then you have reached the right place, as we have listed all the crucial and latest information about the current status of the show.
Here is everything we know about Dangerous Liaisons Season 2’s status with Starz.
Dangerous Liaisons: Will there be a Season 2?
Unfortunately, the answer is NO! Starz has officially confirmed that the second season of Dangerous Liaisons has been canceled by reversing its early Season 2 renewal. The remaining three episodes of the 8-episode first season will air as scheduled. It was also reported that the executive producers are currently shopping the series elsewhere. Dangerous Liaisons Season 2 renewal was announced on November 1, 2022, ahead of the series’ November 6, 2022 debut.
According to Deadline, Starz brass continues to believe in the show creatively but the prequel to the famous 18th-century novel struggled to find an audience, leading to its cancellation. Earlier it was also revealed that the production of Season 2 will begin in a scheduled manner like the prior season, which is expected to begin in early 2023 in Prague. On linear, Dangerous Liaisons premiered with a 0.03 rating among the 18-49 demographic and only 88,000 total viewers, according to live + same-day Nielsen data.
Things didn’t improve in the following weeks, with the show dropping as low as 0.02 and 52,000 total viewers for the Thanksgiving weekend episode. Though ratings improved slightly with its Dec. 4 airing, the show has yet to crack a six-figure L+SD audience thus far. Starz has not disclosed data on delayed viewing and streaming audiences on the Starz app where Dangerous Liaisons had been expected to do most of its business.
Dangerous Liaisons Plot
“Dangerous Liaisons,” is a bold prelude of Laclos’ classic 18th-century novel focusing on the origin story of how his iconic characters, the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, met as passionate young lovers in Paris on the eve of the revolution.
This modern take on a classic story takes audiences through wonder and terror, beauty and degradation, seduction and deception in pre-revolutionary Paris. Driven to right the wrongs of their past, the young couple’s survival depends on their skills of seduction and manipulation of not only the French nobility but of each other.
Alice Englert and Nicholas Denton portray the notorious lovers: Camille who is taken in by the current Marquise de Merteuil navigates her own path in a world of men, using the power of secrets to take back control, and Valmont who will stop at nothing to regain the title that was recently taken from him. Their on-again-off-again love story is the heart of the series. It’s not love… it’s war.
Join us for a delicious little soirée. A new episode of #DangerousLiaisons is available now on the @STARZ App. https://t.co/oHYt6Eb7L5 pic.twitter.com/w59kjvlRS6
— Dangerous Liaisons (@DangerousSTARZ) December 11, 2022
Dangerous Liaisons Cast and Crew
The main cast members of the series are as follows: Alice Englert as Camille, Nicholas Denton as Pascal Valmont, Lesley Manville as Geneviève de Merteuil, Carice van Houten as Jacqueline de Montrachet, Paloma Faith as Florence de Régnier, Michael McElhatton as Jean de Merteuil, Kosar Ali as Victoire, Nathanael Saleh as Azolan, Hakeem Kae-Kazim as Majordome.
The other cast members are Hilton Pelser as Gabriel Carrè, Mia Threapleton as Rose, Colette Dalal Tchantcho as Ondine de Valmont, Lucy Cohu as Christine de Sevigny, Fisayo Akinade as Chevalier de Saint-Jacques, Maria Friedman as Berthe, Clare Higgins as Madame Jericho, Dimitri Gripari as Danceny, Richard Earl as Duc de Lanvin, Sarah E Bentley as Duchesse de Lanvin and Annie Rat (Anna Artes) as a woman dressed as the Queen.
The series is produced for STARZ by Playground and Flame Ventures in association with Lionsgate Television. It was created and written by Harriet Warner, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer. In addition to Warner, Colin Callender (Playground), Tony Krantz (Flame Ventures), Scott Huff, Bethan Jones, and Christopher Hampton also serve as executive producers. Barney Reisz serves as producer.
Dangerous Liaisons Episodes and Streaming Options
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 50% approval rating with an average rating of 6.3/10, based on 14 critic reviews. The website’s critics’ consensus reads, “While Alice Englert and Nicholas Denton make for a convincingly dangerous duo, this prequel to the esteemed novel feels too calculated to stir up a ton of heat.”
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 57 out of 100 based on 9 critics, indicating “mixed or average reviews.” The first season has a total of 8 episodes which is reported to have a runtime of 54 to 59 minutes. In the meantime, check out the recently released episodes with respective synopsis, which are as follows:
Episode 1: Love or War: Young lovers Camille and Valmont fight for a better life but find themselves at war with each other.
Episode 2: Conquer or Die: Camille’s new future hangs in the balance; a face from the past triggers a long-buried need for revenge.
Episode 3: Even God Does Not Forgive: Camille’s revenge mission leads her back to Valmont as he embarks on his most challenging seduction yet.
Episode 4: You Don’t Know Me: Valmont seeks new terms in his deal with Camille; Camille seeks to dominate Jean.
Episode 5: The World Should Be Afraid Of Us: As Valmont’s mission changes his feelings for Camille, she goes to extreme lengths to secure her future.
Episode 6: You Are Not My Equal: Camille and Valmont make shocking discoveries at a grand society ball.
Episode 7: Here Is My Soul: A new plan to conquer their past ghosts puts Camille and Valmont in danger.
Episode 8: It’s War: Origin story and early years of narcissistic rivals and ex-lovers, Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, who use seduction to control and exploit others.
All the episodes of Dangerous Liaisons will be available on Starz and the Starz app, with new episodes launching on a weekly basis, depending on the location of the viewers. You can also watch different genres of movies and TV shows from the catalog as per your preference at no additional cost with any of their services. The video quality and the number of screens you can use to stream simultaneously depend on the package you choose.
Let us know in the comments if you’ll be streaming the last two episodes of Season 1 on December 18, 2022, and January 1, 2023.