Seeds of Change (Mediawan) is a must-watch 19^th-century period drama for French history lovers seeking their next escape. The series is both a captivating and an educational experience, perfect for newcomers to period dramas! Lavender fields, Victorian fashion and thyme-infused liquor set the scene.

Voting rights have just been extended to all men, not just property owners. Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte is elected president and the French Second Republic is established. There is a brief period of hope for the working class. In six episodes, viewers are transported to a wealthy family estate nestled in the scenic mountains of Provence. Amid the French Revolution of 1848, bold characters overcome loss and surrender everything to their pride, ideologies and the pursuit of freedom.

Jean-Baptiste (Guillaume Arnault, Germinal, Murder In…) has helped his mother every year to harvest the family linden trees. After a tragic accident takes her life, he is determined to carry out her visions for their family estate. Sosthene, his arrogant father, recklessly takes charge, destroying long-time traditions. The trusted maid of two generations quits and the home suddenly becomes unbearable. When Sosthene’s prostitute-turned-wife tells a hideous lie, Jean-Baptiste is kicked out.

Jean-Baptiste builds a new life for himself living with his aunt Blanche (Constance Dolle, A French Village) and her best friend Zelie (Ophelia Kolb, What Pauline Is Not Telling You). He surrounds himself with politically-minded friends, engaging in secret underground meetings. But when French rule turns authoritarian and Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte stages the coup d’etat of 1851, Jean-Baptiste and his friends join the rebellion to prevent the return of monarchical rule – a campaign led by Ailhaud de Volx (David Kammenos, All This I Will Give To You, Murderous Memories), the commander of the Republican troops in the Basses-Alpes département.