Disney+ has officially found its latest live-action series. The streaming service has reportedly greenlit Kaiser Karl, a six-episode drama series revolving around the life of fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. The news of the series being greenlit was announced by Jan Koeppen, the president of Disney EMEA, during his Series Mania keynote. Kaiser Karl will be based on Raphaelle Bacque’s biography of the same name, and will be created by Gaumont, the Paris-based production company best known for Netflix’s Lupin. The series will be written by Vampire‘s Isaure Pisani-Ferry and Unfaithful‘s Jennifer Have.
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The story of Kaiser Karl begins in the summer of 1972 and traces Lagerfeld’s quest to become successor of Coco Chanel, who died the year prior, and the most successful French couturier at a time when Yves Saint Laurent was the biggest fashion personality. The rivalry between Lagerfeld and Pierre Bergรฉ (Yves Saint Laurent’s partner) as well as Lagerfeld’s love story with Jacques de Bascher will also be central to the series.
“We are now entering the golden age of European content,” Koeppen said today during his address. “There’s no sign of a slowing down, we’re accelerating our production. Disney+ has given us a unique opportunity to tell uniquely European stories to global audiences. We have an incredibly diverse and exciting European slate, and Kaiser Karl is indicative of the kind of stories we want to be telling. We also felt Lagerfeld’s story hasn’t really been given its due until now and can’t wait to share it with our Disney+ audience.”
“We were immediately seduced by the idea of an adaptation of Bacquรฉ’s biography, which will mark the first collaboration between Disney and Gaumont on a French original show,” Pauline Dauvin, VP Programming & Original Productions, The Walt Disney Company, France, added. “The series shows a unique moment of transformation in the fashion industry in France in the 70s, embodied by an icon with multiple metamorphoses, Karl Lagerfeld.”
“Kaiser Karl is an icon of the century and since the beginning Disney has been very supportive by sharing our creative vision for the show,” Christophe Riandรฉe, Vice CEO Gaumont echoed. “We are thrilled to get started.”
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h/t: Deadline
