Feeling an itch for some medieval-style political intrigue, awesome ladies, epic battles and great costumes? Then upcoming costume drama The White Queen is probably for you.
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.