What is Irma Vep about?
Irma Vep follows a disillusioned American actress named Mira, who escapes from an unsatisfying career in the States to shoot a re-make of the silent French film Les Vampires.
Working with dedicated (read: slightly unhinged) French director René Vidal, Mira begins to notice the line between herself and the character she plays, Irma Vep, becoming quite blurry.
Described as ‘fascinating and unusual’, the show has its roots in the film industry. It begins with the 1916 film Les Vampires, which was about a gang of Parisian criminals who called themselves the Vampires.
Irma Vep was one of their leaders, who went by an anagram of the word ‘vampire’. It was this character who was resurfaced in a 1996 remake of Les Vampires, which was a film-within-a-film, who starred actress Maggie Cheung as she travelled to Paris to star as Irma Vep. The film was partially a satire of the film industry itself.
So, why a third remake? Because the meta-nature of everything is confusing us, too.
It seems the shifts in the film industry over the last two decades needed some more attention, so we have Irma Vep in its third iteration.
Who stars in Irma Vep?
Academy Award-winner Alicia Vikander stars as Mira, the lead role of the actress who comes to Paris to play Irma Vep.
It will be her first big role for the year, and her first time starring in a limited series, which is a very common pursuit for major actors these days. She’s also serving as an executive producer on the series.
Morbius star Adria Arjona joins as Mira’s ex-assistant and ex-girlfriend, while Portlandia actress Carrie Brownstein also joins as Mira’s agent.
British heartthrob Tom Sturridge will also join as another former partner of Mira’s, and French actors Vincent Macaigne and Jeanne Balibar will also join the cast.
Where can I watch Irma Vep?
If you’re a fan of remakes – or just good television – you can now catch Irma Vep in Australia on BINGE. It’s dropping weekly and will have eight episodes.
Stream Irma Vep now on BINGE, live and on demand with a 14 day FREE trial. START FREE TRIAL.
