TV of the Month:4 stars

Dangerous Liaisons has had multiple reincarnations: book, play, film and now an adaptation for the small screen. Kelly Apter enjoys this often-compelling tale of power, seduction, secrets and lies.

When you encounter somebody unpleasant, it’s always interesting to wonder, ‘what made you like that?’ When it comes to the characters in Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ late 18th-century novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, we need wonder no more. Adapted for the stage in 1985 by Christopher Hampton, who then reimagined it for the big screen with an all-star cast in 1988, Dangerous Liaisons is a tale of manipulation and cruelty in pre-revolution Paris. At its core sits the beautiful Marquise de Merteuil and handsome Vicomte de Valmont, two former lovers who set their sights on breaking hearts more brittle than their own.

But these two schemers were young once, before disappointment stole their compassion. Which is where TV writer Harriet Warner comes in, gifting us an intriguing prelude that’s as high on periwigs, breeches and cleavage as the original but with a touch more humanity. Here, Merteuil is a twentysomething beauty thrust into poverty in mysterious circumstances, and Valmont is an in-demand gigolo who’s forced to part with his shirt more times than even he finds comfortable. In theory, they’re in love, but Merteuil (played with subtlety and just the right amount of edge by Alice Englert) is too bitter to really let anyone in. And we quickly suspect that Valmont (a suitably slimy Nicholas Denton) is incapable of truly loving anyone but himself.

And so the scene is set for an enjoyable and often compelling eight-episode romp through the French capital, shortly before the upper crust got their comeuppance. The stories may hail from slightly different eras, and on alternate sides of the Channel, but there’s a vague whiff of Bridgerton about this. Although, to its credit, Dangerous Liaisons does at least acknowledge that obscene wealth always comes at the cost of extreme poverty elsewhere. As origin stories go, this is a clever one and it will be interesting to see where the prelude and Choderlos de Laclos’ novel start to merge as the series plays out.

Cast-wise, aside from our leads, it’s fun to watch Lesley Manville in the role of the former Marquise de Merteuil, having played one of the scheming duo’s young victim’s in Hampton’s 1985 play. A stellar ensemble surrounds them, including Paloma Faith as one of Valmont’s many paying customers, while it seems unlikely anyone will walk away unscathed from this exercise in power, seduction, secrets, and lies.

Starts on Starz, Sunday 6 November.