The streaming giant Apple TV announced Monday that its French-language drama Carême will return for a second season. The decision comes just days after the series earned a nomination for International Emmy in the drama category, underscoring the show’s rapid rise from a niche period piece to a global talking point.
First released in April 2025, the series follows the meteoric ascent of Antonin Carême, portrayed by Benjamin Voisin from a modest Parisian kitchen to the gilded banquet halls of Napoleon’s empire. Critics praised the show for its sumptuous production design, intricate plotting, and the way it blends culinary art with espionage. Audience scores on major platforms quickly climbed into the “Certified Fresh” tier, confirming that the blend of history, intrigue, and gastronomy resonated far beyond France.
Production timeline and Paris shoot
Filming for season two is set to kick off next week in the French capital. The crew will move between iconic venues such as the Palais des Tuileries the Château de FontainebleauChâteau de Chantilly and Château de Compiègne. These locations were chosen to reflect the opulent backdrops that defined Carême’s world and to lend authenticity to the political espionage woven throughout the narrative. According to producers, the schedule allows for both on-set action and extensive culinary set-pieces that will showcase elaborate dishes while the protagonist navigates covert missions.
Cast and creative team
The creative helm remains in the hands of director Martin Bourboulon known for his work on The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan. Bourboulon returns alongside writer-producer duo Ian Kelly and Davide Serino the minds behind the original adaptation. The principal cast is also back: Benjamin Voisin reprises his role as Carême, while Jérémie Renier returns as the scheming diplomat Talleyrand and Alice Da Luz continues as the resourceful chef-ally Agathe Guichardet. Their chemistry, highlighted in the first season, is expected to deepen as the storyline pushes the characters into darker, more politically charged territory.
Beyond the leads, executive producers Vanessa van Zuylen (VVZ Production) and Dominique Farrugia (Shine Fiction, Banijay France) are steering the project toward a broader international audience. Their experience with high-budget period dramas ensures that the upcoming season will retain the visual richness that earned the series its Emmy nod while expanding its narrative scope to explore the consequences of Carême’s double life.
Historical inspiration and visual design
Season two continues to draw from Ian Kelly’s acclaimed biography Carême: Cooking for Kings – The Life of the First Celebrity Chef. The book details how Carême, often credited as the world’s first celebrity chef leveraged his culinary genius to gain access to European courts and, eventually, to the covert networks of Napoleon’s government. The series translates this real-life intrigue into dramatized espionage, allowing viewers to see how a passion for food could double as a passport to political power.
Filming locations as narrative anchors
Each historic site serves a narrative purpose. The Palais des Tuileries provides the backdrop for lavish state banquets where Carême’s dishes become tools of diplomacy. Meanwhile, the sprawling corridors of Fontainebleau double as clandestine meeting rooms for secretive exchanges. By situating scenes in these authentic settings, the production not only showcases France’s architectural heritage but also reinforces the series’ central theme: the thin line between art and espionage.
Visual designers have pledged to recreate the era’s culinary aesthetics with meticulous detail, from hand-painted porcelain to period-accurate kitchen equipment. This commitment to authenticity, paired with Apple TV‘s high-budget backing, promises a viewing experience that is both historically immersive and dramatically compelling, setting the stage for a second season that could redefine period-drama storytelling.
