About Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa is a lavish historical miniseries dramatizing the early life and long reign of the Habsburg ruler Maria Theresa, the only woman to govern the hereditary Habsburg dominions in her own right. Produced as a four-country coproduction by Czech Television, the Slovak broadcaster RTVS, Austria's ORF, and Hungary's MTVA, the project was directed by Robert Dornhelm and filmed across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, and Tuscany. The story opens with the young archduchess navigating court intrigue before the death of her father, Emperor Charles VI, thrusts her onto the throne.
The series traces her struggle to secure her inheritance during the War of the Austrian Succession, her partnership and romance with Francis Stephen of Lorraine, and her gradual transformation from an inexperienced heir into a determined sovereign. Production designers recreated grand palace interiors and period costume, with key scenes shot at the Czech castle of Kromeriz and in the historic centers of Bratislava and Vienna. The early parts cast Marie-Luise Stockinger as the young ruler, while later installments recast the role to reflect the empress in middle age.
Spanning five feature-length parts released between 2017 and 2022, Maria Theresa follows decades of dynastic politics, motherhood, reform, and war. The miniseries became one of the most ambitious period productions mounted in the region, drawing large holiday-season audiences in Central Europe and circulating internationally with subtitles. It frames its central figure as a historical subject, depicting the diplomacy, succession disputes, and family life of the eighteenth-century Habsburg court.
