Napoleon and Josephine was filmed on location in Paris and Morocco, and at studios in Portsmouth. The producers decided to shoot scenes in Paris rather than less expensive locales out of a desire for authenticity. This, and a scheduling disruption when star Bisset missed four days of filming due to illness,^[2] caused the budget to grow to $20 million.^[1]

Critical reaction to Napoleon and Josephine was largely negative. Jeff Jarvis of People described the production as a "gooey mess".^[3] John J. O'Connor of the New York Times was unimpressed with the leads' performances:

Ms. Bisset is beautiful but she conveys the elegance of a contemporary perfume ad. Her Josephine is not a terribly convincing 18th-century woman of affairs, especially one who reportedly had rotten teeth. And Mr. Assante is exasperating in his determination to overwhelm, whether weeping uncontrollably, barking orders to his troops or having an epileptic fit.^[1]

Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times found Bisset "credible as a sympathetic Josephine" and praised the series' "nice battle sequences", but criticized the script as "heavy on hot-breathed romance, though – offering little sense of history or Napoleon's genius."^[4]

Nielsen ratings for the series were disappointing, with its three episodes finishing 15th, 26th, and 30th in their respective time slots.^[5]

Napoleon and Josephine received two Emmy nominations – Gerald Fried for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition, and Michel Fresnay for Outstanding Achievement in Costuming.^[6]

• Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story at IMDb