The first episode of the series Máxima, a biopic about the wife of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, premiered there this weekend. The episode has been very well received by critics and viewers and has achieved more than 700,000 viewers in the night time slot.
It is "a very good achievement," declared Tina Nijkam, a specialist in television audience figures, to the popular daily De Telegraaf. "Production exceeds high expectations," noted the newspaper Algemeen Dagblad (AD).
The initial season about the life of the Argentine tells, in six episodes, the story of Máxima Zorreguieta, from her birth in 1971 in Buenos Aires to her engagement to the crown prince. And her new life in royalty.
In this first batch of chapters, Máxima has been played by the Argentine actress Delfina Chaves and Guillermo Alejandro by the Dutch actor Martijn Lakemeier, 30 years old. After working together, a real-life romance also began between them.
However, the love scenes between young lovers have provoked different annoying comments in the press, social networks and viewers. For example, AD indicates that these scenes "cause slight discomfort" and that the series "could have avoided them."
"You can see nothing more and nothing less than the king and the queen relaxing under the covers. It's like seeing parents in their youth, something very annoying for the princesses," adds AD.
The first episode reached 20% audience share in the 25 to 54 age category. The press service of the Dutch royal family told AFP that it was not involved in the production of the series.
Broadcast on the Videoland streaming platform, the series, of which a second season is already being prepared, was sold to Germany, Belgium and several Latin American countries such as Argentina, where the Max platform bought the broadcast rights.
"In the first season we see how Máxima transforms into a self-confident young woman who falls madly in love with a Dutch prince," said Peter van der Vorst, content director of RTL Nederland, owner of the Videoland platform, in a statement.
"But the story continues. Máxima marries, becomes a mother and then a queen. There are many events that are recorded in our collective memory and that we will see again," he added.
In the second season - whose filming will begin in October - Máxima will discover "that keeping the love of the Dutch is not as easy as winning it," says Rachel van Bommel, from the production company Millstreet Films, cited in the same statement.
Máxima and Guillermo Alejandro met in 1999 and married three years later. The couple has three daughters.
As for the fictional Maxima, Delfina has stated that she feels that this leading role is the most difficult thing she has had to do in her 11-year career. Among other fictions, Paula Chaves' younger sister worked on La casa del mar, La Leona, Edha y Ringo, gloria y muerte.
