Diane Kruger asked me to create The Seduction season 2 — here's my pitch to HBO Max

Anamaria Vartolomei looks at Diane Kruger
Anamaria Vartolomei (Isabelle) and Diane Kruger (Rosemonde) in The Seduction. (Image credit: HBO)

Although season 1 is now over, I've enjoyed new HBO Max show The Seduction far more than I ever thought I would. The best prequels are the ones that have clear ties to an existing world we know and love (which, in this case, is Dangerous Liaisons), but ultimately have a separate identity. In a nutshell, that's what is achieved so well here.

After the open-ended season 1 ending – well, it's open-ended if you're really paying attention – it seemed obvious to me that the streamer would be keen to give a second season the green light. But when I spoke to star Diane Kruger, I got a completely different response.

The Seduction season 2 could be the perfect HBO Max sequel for Isabelle's new life

The Seduction | Official Trailer | HBO Max - YouTube The Seduction | Official Trailer | HBO Max - YouTube
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Warning: spoilers for The Seduction season finale ahead.

In the final shot of The Seduction, we saw Isabelle de Merteuil (Anamaria Vartolomei) pack up her horse and carriage and take off, leaving the French elite behind for a new life. It makes sense that a second season would explore what happens next for her... alongside Rosemond (Kruger), who has been left behind.

There's still a huge chunk of time unaccounted for between The Seduction and Dangerous Liaisons, and what we know of Glenn Close's Marquise de Merteuil in the Dangerous Liaisons movie proves that she's returned to the thick of the social scene she once left behind. So what happened in the interim?

I might be biased, but Isabelle's unique blend of shrewd manipulation and doe-face naivety easily makes her the most intriguing character in the show. I'd happily leave the boys behind to follow Isabelle into her unknown future... it's not like it'll be long until she picks up a new group of suitors or subjects.

However, there's one boy we can't leave behind. Valmont would need to somehow be included in the story, or at least have a storyline parallel to Isabelle's. He's just as important as the Marquise in Dangerous Liaisons, so there's a necessity to reunite them as a bizarre double act.

It would also be helpful to explore the Tourvel family in further detail. We meet another Madame de Tourvel in Dangerous Liaisons, but based on age, she can't be the same one we follow in The Seduction. How are the two related to each other, and did the Tourvel family fall out of favor?

Frankly, there's rich narrative pickings for a second season – so over to you, bigwig execs.


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Jasmine Valentine
Streaming Staff Writer

Jasmine is a Streaming Staff Writer for TechRadar, previously writing for outlets including Radio Times, Yahoo! and Stylist. She specialises in comfort TV shows and movies, ranging from Hallmark's latest tearjerker to Netflix's Virgin River. She's also the person who wrote an obituary for George Cooper Sr. during Young Sheldon Season 7 and still can't watch the funeral episode.

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