Maxton Hall — The World Between Us
| Maxton Hall — The World Between Us | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Romance |
| Based on | Save Me by Mona Kasten |
| Screenplay by | Daphne Ferraro Marc Schießer Marlene Melchior Zoe Hagen Nina Rathke Anna Schimrigk Juliana Lima Dehne |
| Directed by | Martin Schreier Tarek Roehlinger |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | Germany |
| Original language | German |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Markus Brunnemann Ceylan Yildirim |
| Producer | Valentin Debler |
| Cinematography | Christof Wahl |
| Production company |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | Amazon Prime Video |
| Release | 9 May 2024 |
Maxton Hall — The World Between Us is a six-part German-language television series on Amazon Prime Video. It is adapted from the Mona Kasten book Save Me. The cast is led by Damian Hardung and Harriet Herbig-Matten. The series premiered on May 9, 2024, and had the most successful series launch of any non-American Prime Original ever. Maxton Hall became the most popular series on Prime Video worldwide shortly after its release, ranking #1 in the charts in over 120 regions.[1]
Plot[edit]
Season 1[edit]
Ruby Bell, a brilliant and determined young woman, enters the opulent world of Maxton Hall on a scholarship. Her singular focus is securing a place at Oxford University, a stark contrast to the carefree extravagance of her wealthy classmates. Among them is James Beaufort, an arrogant heir, whose life revolves around privilege.
After forgetting to submit a document for her referral letter to Mr Sutton, a teacher at the school, she stumbles upon Lydia Beaufort having a secret affair with Mr. Sutton. Lydia thinks Ruby will expose her relationship, so she resorts to her brother James for help. James attempts to buy out Ruby, who in turn refuses all of his attempts.
Ruby then requests the school headmaster, Mr. Lexington, for the letter in place of Mr. Sutton since she no longer holds him in high regard as she did before. She informs Mr. Lexington that she is the chairman for the event organisation committee, so he makes a deal with Ruby that if she manages to pull off the upcoming event aimed to attract new potential students successfully, he would consider to write her letter.
Mr. Sutton breaks up with Lydia even after she begs him to keep things the way they are. The party progresses smoothly until the strippers James invited to ruin Ruby's event show up, since he believes that Ruby has underlying intentions to ruin the Beaufort family with Lydia's secret.
The headmaster is enraged and takes James off the lacrosse team and denies Ruby her letter. However, he is willing to reverse his decision if Ruby and James manage to throw a successful donor gala for the school. After the initial phase of animosity, Ruby and James begin to bond over the next few weeks with James helping out to the best of his ability.
James prepares for the 'Young Beaufort' line, an idea that Lydia had come up with and worked hard on for years, however, their father sees Lydia unfit to lead as future CEO. Unfortunately, the press conference clashes with the gala - which James had promised Ruby that he'd attend since it was her birthday as well. After an intense conversation with his father forcing him to go to the conference, James makes a decision in the spur of the moment when rehearsing lines with Lydia in the car, and decides to go to the gala.
James' father's wrath knows no bounds when he discovers his son's relationship with Ruby since he catches them kissing in the basement of the gala. He views her as beneath them and resorts to blackmail, threatening to destroy Ruby's future to force James to break things off. Heartbroken and desperate to protect Ruby, James makes the agonising decision to end their relationship.
Just as they attempt to rebuild their lives, Lydia drops another bombshell. She reveals she's pregnant with Mr. Sutton's child. Initially filled with joy, they plan to run away together, etching a new life path outside the confines of Maxton Hall. However, Lydia backs out at the last minute, leaving Mr. Sutton heartbroken and their escape dreams shattered.
During the Oxford colleges interview period, a 2nd year student seemingly takes a liking to Ruby. James is overcome with jealousy as he watches the two get close at a bar. Ruby publicly lashes out at him for talking down to the student at an Oxford student QnA. They have an angry confrontation with Ruby making James come to a realisation that he has never once done what he wanted for himself. James kisses Ruby in retaliation but Ruby asks James why he ignored her until now, to which he explains his dad's threats. They reconcile and have sex, Ruby nails her interviews, and James doesn't attend his.
Upon arrival back home, James and Lydia are informed that their mother had passed away. James becomes angry at his father for his demeanour and tackles him, getting James kicked out of the house. James finds himself infront of Ruby's house, but after seeing her happy with her family, he walks away, and the season ends.
Cast[edit]
- Harriet Herbig-Matten as Ruby Bell
- Damian Hardung as James Beaufort
- Sonja Weißer as Lydia Beaufort
- Andrea Guo as Lin Wang
- Justus Riesner as Alistair Ellington
- Fedja van Huêt as Mortimer Beaufort
- Ben Felipe as Cyril Vega
- Runa Greiner as Ember Bell
- Martin Neuhaus as Angus Bell
- Julia-Maria Köhler as Helen Bell
- Clelia Sarto as Claudelia Beaufort
- Eidin Jalali as Graham Sutton
Production[edit]
The six-part series, directed by Martin Schreier and Tarek Roehlinger, was recorded in 2022. The series is produced by Markus Brunnemann and Valentin Debler, and executive produced by Ceylan Yildirim for UFA Fiction. Daphne Ferraro is the head writer.[2]
The cast is led by Harriet Herbig-Matten as Ruby and Damian Hardung as James, and also includes Sonja Weißer , Ben Felipe, Fedja van Huêt, Runa Greiner, Justus Riesner, Clelia Sarto, Andrea Guo, Eidin Jalali.[3]
Filming locations included Berlin, London, Oxford and in and around Marienburg Castle (Hanover).[4][5]
It was renewed for a second series in May 2024 after achieving the largest ever first week global viewership for an international original on Amazon Prime Video.[6]
Broadcast[edit]
The series premiered on 9 May 2024 on Amazon Prime Video.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ "„Maxton Hall" bekommt nach weltweitem Erfolg bei Prime Video zweite Staffel". DE About Amazon (in German). 17 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Gomez, Dessi (19 April 2024). "'Maxton Hall — The World Between Us' Trailer Teases Class Warfare Between Star-Crossed Lovers". The Wrap. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ McPherson, Chris (19 April 2024). "Secrets Are Dangerous in 'Maxton Hall — The World Between Us' Trailer". Collider. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ "Amazon greenlights German romantic drama based on Maxton Hall novels". c21media.net. 6 September 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ "This is what we now know about the film adaptation of Maxton Hall College". somanypages. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ Devore, Britta (17 May 2024). "Your Latest Teen Drama Obsession Is Getting a Second Season". Colllider. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "MAXTON HALL - THE WORLD THAT SEPARATES US, NEW TEEN SERIES IN AN ELITE SCHOOL ON PRIME VIDEO". Sortiraparis. 16 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
