Calling all die-hard Gossip Girl fans and delulu #BookTok romance readers who like their men just a little bit mean. Boy, do we have a series for you.
Prime Video’s latest offering Maxton Hall: The World Between Us is going viral online, an adaptation of Mona Kasten’s hit German novel Save Me.
The literary roots shine through in this dramatic romance plot that sees poor scholarship student Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten) clash with arrogant 'old money' rich boy James Beaufort (Damian Hardung) at their prestigious school.
Beaufort is a fever dream compilation of teenage-crushes through the ages, with his floppy-haired aesthetic calling back to Gossip Girl’s Chace Crawford, Romeo + Juliet’s Leonardo DiCaprio and The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Christopher Briney.
@cassiesbooktok The big three #maxtonhall #thesummeriturnedpretty #conradfisher #colewalter #foryou ♬ som original - ¡Itallo🐆
Meanwhile, Bell is the put-together, morally righteous bookworm, reminiscent of Gilmore Girls’ Rory Gilmore.
He plays the bad-boy popular-group kingpin who is nasty but for a good reason, to protect his sister Lydia and his wealthy family from her life-altering secret (spoiler alert: she’s been having an affair with her teacher).
The German-language series is so popular that it has already been confirmed for a second season.
It's giving money, it's giving betrayal and it's giving spicy arguments turned make-out sessions, and we're all about it.
So, here's everything you need to know about this slow-burn enemies-to-lovers goldmine.
What is the plot of Maxton Hall series one?
@randomdramascene look at them in love but the ending 😭 #maxtonhall #maxtonhallonprime #damianhardung #harrietherbigmatten #tvseries #german #mustwatch #fypp #forupage ♬ But Daddy I Love Him - Taylor Swift
Ruby Bell is a driven scholarship student at the illustrious Maxton Hall school, vying for a spot at Oxford University.
She *spoiler alert* happens upon one of her classmates, Lydia Beaufort (Sonja Weißer) in a tryst with Professor Sutton (Eidin Jalali). Lydia had fallen for the professor before he began teaching at Maxton.
With Sutton in charge of her Oxford referral letter, Bell finds herself in a Catch-22 on whether to report his misbehaviour.
Meanwhile, Lydia fears exposure and breaks down, telling her brother James Beaufort, who makes it his mission to stop Bell reporting his sister’s affair. It would not only destroy her reputation but also their family’s fashion empire legacy.
James offers Ruby money and favours in exchange for her silence, which she refuses on principle. Having discovered a new way to get a referral letter from the headmaster, by hosting a party to attract new students, Ruby throws herself into planning it.
Convinced she’s about to ruin his family, James sends strippers to the party, derailing it.
When James is pulled off the lacrosse team and Ruby’s letter withheld, the two are challenged to work together on a new project to get the thing they want. In this newfound closeness, undeniable attraction ensues.
The series ends on a cliffhanger with an unexpected death, which gets in the way of the enemies-to-lovers romance.
Will there be a Maxton Hall season two?
On May 17, Deadline reported that Maxton Hall was Prime Video’s "most-watched international show of all time in its first week."
Both Damian Hardung and Harriet Herbig-Matten are confirmed for the next instalment, which is expected to cover the content of the second book Save You.
Filming will reportedly start imminently, in the European summer of 2024. Prime Video usually stick to a yearly release cycle so we could even expect season two next Australian winter.
Who will be in the Maxton Hall season two cast?
Given we know the content of the second book, we can expect the cast as follows:
-
Harriet Herbig-Matten - Ruby Bell
-
Damian Hardung - James Beaufort
-
Sonja Weißer - Lydia Beaufort
-
Andrea Guo - Lin Wang
-
Justus Riesner - Alistair Ellington
-
Fedja Van Huêt - Mortimer Beaufort
-
Ben Felipe - Cyril Vega
-
Runa Greiner - Ember Bell
-
Julia-Maria Köhler - Helen Bell
-
Martin Neuhaus - Angus Bell
-
Eidin Jalali - Graham Sutton
What is the plot of Maxton Hall season two?
With the first season sticking closely to the plot of the first book, we can expect another faithful rendition for season two.
James will be dealing with the unexpected family death, and it will likely continue to get in the way of his romance with Ruby.
Damian Hadrung told TVInsider: "There’s that contrast there where he’s looking at Ruby’s happy family and just seeing the blood on his own hand and the ring with his family name. It just pushes him over the edge of trying to really protect her from his mess.
"He just loves her so much that he leaves. I feel like that’s such a beautiful message that if you truly love someone and you love them that much, you’re actually willing to leave for their own sake."
The fate of Ruby’s entrance to Oxford will finally be revealed, alongside further complications in Lydia and Mr Sutton’s romance.
We don't know about you, but the second instalment really can't come soon enough.
Feature image: Prime Video/Maxton Hall.
Are you a new or expecting mum? We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the below survey. PLUS as a token of our appreciation…you’ll go in the running to win a $50 gift voucher!