2.054 minSeason 2 • Episode 8
LatestTorcy oversees the faithful’s donations to the Sacred Heart, which add up to a tidy sum. Mosca jumps at the opportunity to strike a fatal blow to the chief commissioner and replenish his coffers at the same time. Meanwhile, the women of the Paradise are worried that Kertel and Bak are trying to overthrow Mosca for control of the streets.
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.
Production
Exquisite 1871 Paris recreation—every gas lamp and petticoat earned.
Acting
Valérie Karsenti's Hortense: maternal, ruthless, devastatingly controlled.
Writing
Refuses easy redemption arcs—everyone's complicit, everyone's trapped.
Creator
Jacques Ouaniche
Anne Charrier
Véra
Clémence Bretécher
Valentine
Valérie Karsenti
Hortense Gaillac
Jemima West
Rose
Deborah Grall
Bertha
Blandine Bellavoir
Angèle
Catherine Hosmalin
Marguerite Fourchon
Nicolas Briançon
Pierre Gaillac
Michaël Cohen
Louis Mosca
Michaël Abiteboul
Kertel
Fatou N'Diaye
Pauline
Martin Loizillon
Bak
David Salles
Paul le boucher
Fernando Rodrigues
Client Politique Guyot
Luciano Gomes
Livreur paradis
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 1871 Commune backdrop isn't decorative—it's France's first workers' revolution, making these women's economic entrapment politically resonant.
Creator Jacques Ouaniche modeled Paradise on real Parisian maisons closes, particularly Le Chabanais, where aristocrats kept private rooms.
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