Some fairytales end with a royal wedding. Season 2 of “Maxima” – about reigning Queen Maxima of the Netherlands – will start with one.
“These moments are still in our collective memory. We’ve all seen them on TV,” admitted producer Rachel van Bommel. “In the first season, we used archive footage. We’ll do it again, especially for the scenes of the wedding.”
The show, produced by Millstreet Films and sold by Beta Film, is expanding the second time around, she assured Variety during a set visit in Hague. Beta is bowing a first-look photo ahead of its London Screenings showcase on Feb. 25.
“It’s much bigger because we’re in palaces, in big U.N. buildings. Then there’s life and death: children being born, funerals taking place. We still have this royal couple that’s really engaging and we’ll keep a light tone, but there’s drama in their life.”
Frequently compared to “The Crown,” “Maxima” always puts its Argentinian protagonist first.
“I love ‘The Crown,’ but it takes a look at the whole family. We follow this outsider who comes from a different country and then ends up here in Holland, in cold weather, but also with a very different way of handling things,” said van Bommel.
Engaged to prince Willem-Alexander, Maxima will now need to start looking at things from a “more responsible, more queen-like perspective.”
“In the first episode, she thinks: ‘O.K, I’m getting married. I can pick my own dress.’ But suddenly, there are 20 people deciding what her dress should look like. [This show] is very much about family and about making sacrifices. In Season 2, you see Queen Beatrix giving up a lot. That’s what she teaches Maxima. Being a queen is not just a job. It never stops.”
Lead actor Delfina Chaves also noticed a change in Maxima.
“She’s being welcomed into the royal house. But what are her expectations versus what it means as an institution? It’s a reality check.”
As Season 2, directed by Saskia Diesing and Joosje Duk, covers over 10 years in her life, Maxima will “lose a certain part of herself and a new version of herself has to be born.”
“We are portraying real people, but it was still so important to make these characters feel alive. We never lost track of that,” said Chaves.
“You have all these videos on YouTube of her being so composed and following the protocol. But in this show, we also see Maxima when she’s not being watched.”
While the first season focused on Maxima leaving her own family – “and having to break this strong bond with her father” – now, the focus will switch to Dutch royals.
“It’s crazy, what they had to go through. We get so many new characters and storylines. It adds so much to the show,” noted Chaves, with her co-star Martijn Lakemeier adding: “There are many of these big life events, but they deal with them together and they are really strong as a team. Still, it’s mainly about Maxima. She’s finding a way to balance everything, from motherhood to trying to make a difference and doing important work. It’s a pretty intense and hectic role to fulfill.
He said: “Story-wise, it’s very universal. It’s a love story between two people, trying to make sure it works out for them despite all the obstacles on the road.”
As the show’s real-life inspirations are still in power, “you want to stay close to the facts,” observed van Bommel.
“If you look at the actual king and queen, what really binds them is their humor. I think the response [to the series] has been good and it might actually offer some insight into their humanity. I think it could be good for the royal family. I hope so,” Chaves said.
“We were hoping ‘Maxima’ would travel. It’s great to see a local story being embraced like that.”
