France") Cardinal Talleyrand-Périgord recounts the troubled reign of Philippe's son, Jean II "The Good", who continues the reversal of fortune for France set in motion by his father. Jean creates discord among his lords by the disproportionate favour he bestows upon the handsome Charles de La Cerda, whose subsequent murder ignites a bitter feud between Jean and his treacherous son-in-law, Charles, King of Navarre. Encouraged by the Navarese and taking advantage of the turmoil in France, Edward III renews his claim to the French throne. His son, Edward, the Black Prince, mounts a relatively small but largely unchecked invasion of France. Finally confronted by Jean's forces, which vastly outnumber his, young Edward still manages to turn the tables and defeat the French, capturing Jean, his youngest son Philippe and many of his great lords. Television adaptations Les Rois maudits has been adapted twice for French television. 1972 miniseries The 1972 TV adaptation of Les Rois maudits was broadcast by the ORTF from 21 December 1972 to 24 January 1973, and starred Jean Piat as Robert d'Artois and Hélène Duc as Mahaut d'Artois. Adapted by Marcel Jullian and directed by Claude Barma, its six episodes were directly based on—and named after—the first six novels in Druon's series. Dubbed "the French I, Claudius", the series was "hugely successful", and brought the novels "from cult to mainstream success". The production was shot in studio, with minimal sets. Bertrand Guyard of Le Figaro praised the production and cast in 2013. The series was broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC in French with English subtitles in June–July 1974 and again in August–September 1975. 2005 miniseries In 2005, Les Rois maudits was again adapted in a joint French-Italian production directed by Josée Dayan, starring Philippe Torreton as Robert and Jeanne Moreau as Mahaut. Broadcast on France 2 from 7 November to 28 November 2005, its five episodes are named after novels 1–3 and 5–6 (the exception being La Loi des mâles). The series premiered with 8.6 million viewers, and the finale garnered over 6.2 million viewers. Overall Les Rois maudits averaged 7.2 million viewers, an audience share of 27.9%. The miniseries was nominated for a 2006 Globes de Cristal Award for Best Television Film or Television Series. Reception According to John Lichfield, The Independent French correspondent and a friend of Druon's, "Les Rois maudits was written to make money very quickly ... [Druon] himself