Michael Sheen Transforms Into Prince Andrew In First Look at Prime Video's 'A Very Royal Scandal'

Prime Video has announced that A Very Royal Scandal will premiere this September. It is the third installment in its popular Scandal anthology, after 2018's award-winning A Very English Scandal, which starred Hugh Grant (Paddington 2) and Ben Whishaw (This Is Going To Hurt), and its 2021 follow-up, A Very British Scandal, starring Claire Foy (The Crown) and Paul Bettany (WandaVision). The three-part drama will focus on the bombshell 2019 Newsnight interview with Queen Elizabeth II's son Prince Andrew, in which he disastrously tried to explain away his relationship with noted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with Ruth Wilson (The Woman in the Wall) as journalist Emily Maitlis and Michael Sheen (Good Omens) as Prince Andrew. 

If all of this feels oddly familiar, it's probably because this is actually the second dramatization of the Prince Andrew interview to hit screens this year. The Netflix film Scoop was released in April 2024 and featured Gillian Anderson (The Crown) and Rufus Sewell (The Diplomat) in the lead roles. Prime Video's version stars its own pair of acting heavy hitters in nearly the same outfits, as a handful of first-look images from the series prove, including ones documenting Sheen's transformation into the disgraced British royal. 

Though many folks are likely familiar with Sheen thanks to his involvement in Prime Video's adaptation of Good Omens, he has a long history of playing complicated real-life figures, including Prime Minister Tony Blair (The Queen, The Deal, The Special Relationship), journalist David Frost (Frost/Nixon), controversial football manager Brian Clough (The Damned United) and the game show host at the heart of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? cheating scandal (Quiz). 

The original interview, titled Prince Andrew & the Epstein Scandal, aired on BBC Two on November 19, 2019. It was an utter disaster for Prince Andrew and the royal family, as he contradicted previously released statements, failed to show any remorse for his friendship with Epstein or sympathy for his victims, and could not explain why he continued to associate with him following his convictions for sexual offenses. Andrew also awkwardly attempted to refute the claims of his own accuser, Virginia Giuffre, including insisting that he had been at a party at a Pizza Express in Woking on the night the encounter with his alleged victim took place. (It's a wild ride, is what I'm saying.)

The BBC appearance went so badly that it ended Andrew's career as a working royal. Stripped of many of his patronages and forbidden from styling himself "His Royal Highness," he was banned from appearing at public events with the rest of the family, except in instances where he could show up as a private citizen. (For example, he was allowed to attend his mother's funeral in September 2022.)

A Very Royal Scandal aims to demonstrate the power of journalism through a pivotal moment in British history, following the actions of Maitlis and Prince Andrew in the lead-up to the ground-breaking event itself and the many questions left in its wake.

Here's the series' synopsis.

One night. One hour. One interview that sent shockwaves around the globe. Based on the real-life 2019 interview between Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew over the scandalous accusations he faced regarding his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre. A Very Royal Scandal follows the action of Maitlis and Prince Andrew in the lead-up to the interview, the ground-breaking event itself and the many questions left in its wake that would change their lives forever.

Alongside Sheen and Wilson, the series stars Joanna Scanlan (The Larkins) as Amanda Thirsk, Alex Jennings (The Undeclared War) as Sir Edward Young, Éanna Hardwicke (The Sixth Commandment) as Stewart Maclean and Claire Rushbrook (Magpie Murders) as Sarah Ferguson.

A Very Royal Scandal is written by Jeremy Brock and directed by Julian Jarrold. Both are also executive producers alongside Karen Thrussell, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Diarmuid McKeown, and Maitlis herself. The series was produced by Blueprint Television for Amazon MGM Studios, and distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Television.  

All three episodes of A Very Royal Scandal premiere on Thursday, September 19, 2024, on Prime Video.