Series synopsis
Maison close is a French drama television series that premiered on Canal+ on October 4, 2010. It ended on February 25, 2013. It was created by Jacques Ouaniche. It stars Anne Charrier, Clémence Bretécher, Juana Pereira da Silva and Valérie Karsenti.
Paris, 1871. This is a story of the women trapped in a luxury brothel, 'Paradise'. The very young Rose came to Paris in search of her mother, former prostitute. She is trapped and forced to enroll in Paradise. Vera is 35 years. She knows that the end of her career as a prostitute is near. She is betting everything on the Baron Du Plessis, her main client, and the only one able to redeem her debt. Hortense is the owner of Paradise. She must take care of her girls and resist pressure from a suburb ...
Premise
Paris, 1871. This is a story of the women trapped in a luxury brothel, 'Paradise'. The very young Rose came to Paris in search of her mother, former prostitute. She is trapped and forced to enroll in Paradise. Vera is 35 years. She knows that the end of her career as a prostitute is near. She is betting everything on the Baron Du Plessis, her main client, and the only one able to redeem her debt. Hortense is the owner of Paradise. She must take care of her girls and resist pressure from a suburban thug who is charging her money.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Anne Charrier as Véra
- Clémence Bretécher as Valentine
- Juana Pereira da Silva as Louise
- Valérie Karsenti as Hortense Gaillac
- Jemima West as Rose
- Deborah Grall as Bertha
- Blandine Bellavoir as Angèle
- Catherine Hosmalin as Marguerite Fourchon
Supporting cast
- Nicolas Briançon as Pierre Gaillac
- Michaël Cohen as Louis Mosca
- Michaël Abiteboul as Kertel
- Fatou N'Diaye as Pauline
- Martin Loizillon as Bak
- David Salles as Paul le boucher
- Rui Spranger as Client
- Fernando Rodrigues as Client Politique Guyot
- Luciano Gomes as Livreur paradis
- Ana Cloe as Clarisse
- Ricardo Pereira as Aristide
- Jorge Fernandes as Cliente
Guest cast
- Arnaud Binard as Francis Arnoult
- Garlan Le Martelot as Edmond Blondin
- Lannick Gautry as Edgar
- Serge Dupuy as Brise Caboche
- Dan Herzberg as Gaston Lupin
- Antoine Chappey as Charles Blondin
- Elsa Silva as Olympe
- Dany Verissimo-Petit as Camélia
- Sébastien Libessart as Commissaire Torcy
- Susana Correia as Jessy
- Quentin Baillot as Baron du Plessis
- Philippe Leroux as Jules Steiner
Episodes
This series spans 2 seasons with 16 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 8 | October 4, 2010 | October 25, 2010 |
| Season 2 | 8 | February 4, 2013 | February 25, 2013 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Paris, 1871. Vera, the star attraction of the The Paradise luxury brothel, is about to finally leave the institution to become the live-in mistress of the Baron Du Plessis. However, The Paradise owes money to a dangerous debt collector named Lupin, and its madam, Hortense Gaillac, is willing to resort to absolutely anything to keep her. Meanwhile Rose, a pretty young woman engaged to be married, arrives at The Paradise” in search of her mother and Hortense sees an opportunity to revive the business. |
October 4, 2010 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Forced into service at The Paradise, Rose manages to escape before being tracked down by the police. After one of the girls is assaulted, Véra organizes a strike in protest, causing a strain on the brothel’s finances. In response, Hortense decides to sell Rose’s chastity to the highest bidder. As things are heating up, Hortense’s despised brother, Pierre Gaillac, arrives from the colonies to take over the business. |
October 4, 2010 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Hortense’s detestable brother Pierre, recently arrived in France, quickly resolves the strike organized by the ladies of The Paradise. But the calm in the storm is only temporary. Now back to work, Rose finds herself struggling to adjust to her new life. Meanwhile, Véra notices that Angéle is wearing jewelry that had previously belonged to her late lover. Suspicious, she goes to the police to report it. |
October 11, 2010 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 The residents of the Paradise are forced to cohabitate with a band of Parisian thugs with highly questionable morals. Facing grave financial difficulties, the brothel must also survive the rise to power of a royalist chief commissioner who marks the return of a Moral Order. |
February 4, 2013 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Chief Commissioner Torcy, constantly looking to unseat Mosca from his throne at the Paradise, and suspicious of Mosca’s involvement in a major burglary, sends Commissioner Angélus to the brothel to make inquiries. But none of the girls are willing to talk. Meanwhile, Hortense detests Mosca’s presence in her territory and yearns to denounce him. |
February 4, 2013 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Torcy has enough on Hortense to put pressure on her and comes to arrest the Queen of the Paradise. In exchange for her freedom, she agrees to work with the Moral Order, Mosca, for his part, takes interest in a group street prostitutes who are all alone after the death of their pimp, especially once he meets a procurer looking for girls to feed a pipeline to Buenos Aires. |
February 11, 2013 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | Canal+ |
|---|---|
| First aired | October 4, 2010 |
| Last aired | February 25, 2013 |
| Runtime | 52 minutes |
| Status | Canceled |
| Schedule | Monday at 21:00:00 |