Hot on the heels of The White Queen, The White Princess and The Spanish Princess, another female-driven royal drama is on its way to STARZPLAY: The Serpent Queen.
Set in the 16th Century court of France, the historical drama chronicles how Catherine de Medici rose to power against all odds.
Premiering on 11th September 2022, The Serpent Queen stars Samantha Morton as the adult Catherine, who recounts her story to a servant girl named Rahima through flashbacks.
Speaking about bringing Catherine to life on screen, writer and executive producer Justin Haythe (A Cure for Wellness) told the Hollywood Reporter: “Writing Catherine and her story has been truly exciting as she is a very complex leading character who becomes a skilled ruler, battling extraordinary political and personal odds throughout her reign.”
He added: “She is a Queen who defies convention, as she relies upon her intellect, her unusual entourage and a ready supply of black magic inspiring, centuries later, the Evil Queen of fairy tales.”
Often depicted as brutal and villainous by historians, Catherine de Medici is given a carefully nuanced portrait in The Serpent Queen.
Haythe added: “You have to really wonder if this is an evil person with shards of good, or it’s a good person who’s capable of evil to survive.”
At the Television Critics Association summer press tour in August 2022, Morton shared her thoughts on the “fascinating, complex, alluring, and devastating” part.
“Bearing in mind she’s Italian, I had this sense that she was almost like a don in The Godfather,” Morton said. “She’s someone that’s very reserved. She thinks things through. She doesn’t feel the need to have knee-jerk reactions to anything.”
Read on for everything you need to know about how to watch The Serpent Queen.
When is The Serpent Queen released to stream on STARZ?
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The Serpent Queen is set to premiere at midnight on the STARZ app on 11th September 2022.
We can’t wait!
How to watch The Serpent Queen in the UK
The Serpent Queen is airing on STARZ in the US from 11th September 2022.
In the UK, the series will be available from the same day on STARZPLAY.
You can sign up for Starz US to watch The Serpent Queen, or can access STARZPLAY through Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
The Serpent Queen plot
Based on the non-fiction book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda, the series jumps between two timelines to explore Catherine’s history and present.
The flashback timeline follows a young Catherine arriving from Italy to marry King Henry II, only to discover on her wedding night that her husband has eyes for another woman.
The young series will then chronicle Catherine’s rise to power against all odds.
As the official synopsis reads: “With her future suddenly uncertain and with little hope of conceiving, Catherine must quickly learn who she can trust – both within her personal entourage of courtiers and the members of the royal court – while outmaneuvering anyone who underestimates her determination to survive at any cost.”
The Serpent Queen will become available to stream on STARZ in the US and on STARZPLAY in the UK from 11th September 2022. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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