Andy Serkis on Showrun, directing ‘Madame!’ About Marie Tussaud’s life

The Batman actor Andy Serkis will showrun and direct Madame!, an epic historical series about the life of Marie Tussaud, the visionary French artist known for her wax figures and the world-renowned Madame Tussauds museum.

Newen Connect, the distribution arm of Newen Studios, part of TF1 Group, has signed a deal with Imaginarium Productions, the company founded by Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish, to co-develop and distribute the series created by Serkis. Cavendish will produce with Marie Guillaumond at Felicita Films.

The captivating series will shed light on this ruthless but pioneering businesswoman who built her business in 18th-century Paris during the Age of Enlightenment, the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror before traveling to England.

“This isn’t straight-forward period drama, it’s a hilariously insane, no-holds-barred, anarchic punk maneuver conjured from the oddly twisted mind of a fabulously post-truth hangman’s daughter!” said Serkis. “Marie knows one thing very well: if you’re going to tell your own life story, make it entertaining even if you have to make it up, and whatever happens, cut out the boring parts.”

In addition to his illustrious acting career, Serkis is an accomplished director whose credits include Breathe, starring Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, and most recently Venom: Let There Be Carnage for Sony Pictures. Also, Serkis is directing an animated adaptation of George Orwell’s classic novel Animal Farm.

Rodolphe Buet, CEO of Newen Connect, said the series “depicts a visionary heroine who shattered convention in the 18th century and whose journey as a strong, independent woman who managed to build empire has a particularly strong resonance today.”

Buet also noted that the partnership with The Imaginarium UK “enshrines Newen Connect’s strategy of helping producers develop and seek funding for ambitious co-production projects”.

Imaginarium TV credits include Fungus the Bogeyman and upcoming The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself, while movies include The Ritual for Netflix and Taika Waititi’s upcoming Next Goal Wins.

Guillaumond, who is co-producing the series, previously worked as Head of Drama at TF1 and founded her own production company Felicita Films in 2019.