Jodie Turner Smith Cast as Anne Boleyn in New Series About Her Tragic End

U.K. network Channel 5 has commissioned a convention-defying new drama focused on the death of the infamous English queen, Anne Boleyn, starring British actress Jodie Turner-Smith.

It does not yet have a title but the three-part series will reportedly examine the downfall of Henry VIII's second wife through the lens of a psychological thriller, rather than simply retreading the end of her life in a classic period drama format. (Which, admittedly, we have seen done kind of a lot recently, even if Wolf Hall was excellent.)

According to Deadline, the series will shine a feminist light on the final months of Boleyn’s life, re-imagining her struggle with Tudor England’s patriarchal society, her desire to secure a future for her daughter, Elizabeth, and the brutal reality of her failure to provide Henry with a male heir. It is penned by newcomer Eve Hedderwick Turner and will be directed by Lynsey Miller, who recently helmed crime drama Deadwater Fell.