Period Drama 'Victoria' Renewed for a Second Season
God save the Queen! ITV has renewed their splashy - and super successful - period drama Victoria for a second season.
The show tells the story of the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign - from her ascension to the throne in 1837 through her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert. Doctor Who alum Jenna Coleman stars as the young queen, opposite a strong ensemble cast that includes Tom Hughes as Prince Albert, Rufus Sewell as Victoria's first Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, and many more familiar faces.
Daisy Goodwin created, written and executive produced the series, and will be writing Season 2, with an eye to a Fall 2017 premiere in the UK.
"Even though she reigned in the 19th Century, Victoria is a heroine for our times. In the next series she faces the very modern dilemma of how to juggle children with her husband and her job," Goodwin said in a statement. "As Victoria will discover, it’s hard to be a wife, a mother and ruler of the most powerful nation on earth!”
The royal drama is currently in the middle of its first season run in the UK, and isn't slated to bow in the U.S. until January, 2017, so this move shows great confidence in the show's future. The renewal also isn't that surprising, given that Victoria ruled England for over 63 years, presiding over many important historical events, scandals, and personal challenges during that time. This means there's a lot of story still to tell, so if all continues to go well, expect to see the show continue for some time in future.
And things are currently going quite well for Victoria - the show has been averaging 7.7 million viewers per episode since its late August debut, and currently sits as ITV's top drama of the year. It's also handily beating its Sunday night competition on BBC One, another little period drama you may have heard of by the name of Poldark.
Long live the Queen, indeed.
Are you excited to see Victoria when it comes to America in January? Let's discuss.
