Get an Extended Look at The White Queen, Premiering This Summer on Starz
Based on a series of novels by Philippa Gregory, the ambitious ten-part drama attempts to tell the story of the Wars of the Roses through the eyes of three very different women, who were all intimately involved in the battle for the English crown. Elizabeth Woodville, the titutlar White Queen and wife of King Edward IV, Margaret Beaufort, mother of the man who would become King Henry VII, and Ann Neville, daughter of Warwick the Kingmaker and eventual wife of King Richard III. (In other fun facts, Elizabeth Woodville and Margaret Beaufort are the grandmothers of King Henry VIII.)
The Starz website describes the show as “a riveting portrayal of one of the most dramatic and turbulent times in English history. A story of love and lust, seduction and deception, betrayal and murder, it is uniquely told through the perspective of three different, yet equally relentless women. In their quest for power, they will scheme, manipulate and seduce their way onto the English throne.”
This extended official trailer from Starz is much, much better than the teaser trailer offered last month, which seemed to focus primarily on the fact that everyone in the cast was attractive. This clip not only shows almost every major character, it gives you a pretty good idea of the basics of the series’ plot – or, at least before everything gets really messy later on.
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We also finally got a look at the ladies playing Jacquetta Woodville and Cecily, Duchess of York – Janet McTeer and Caroline Goodall, respectively – two more influential women who have a profound impact on events, though history has not been terribly kind to either of them. Jacquetta was accused of witchcraft more than once, and Cecily is historically portrayed as…well, let’s just say a not very warm woman. (Though she can probably thank William Shakespeare for that.)
The White Queen starts tonight (June 16) on BBC One, and is set to make its American debut on premium cable network Starz starting August 10. (It will air through October 19, so get comfy!)
These books are a personal guilty pleasure of mine, so I’m quite looking forward to this show. Here’s hoping it’s as good as it looks. How about you?
