Tall Tudor tale
The Tudors might be an evergreen subject for historical dramas, but in the hands of My Lady Jane showrunners Gemma Burgess and Meredith Glynn, history is almost unrecognisable. They outline how they created this dramatic alt-history series that imagines a different future for Lady Jane Grey. When it comes to dramas based on British royal history, the Tudor period – best known for King Henry VIII and his six wives – is the era that keeps on giving. Earlier this year, Disney+ launched murder mystery Shardlake, while the long-awaited sequel to Wolf Hall – Wolf Hall: The Mirror & The Light – is finally on the horizon. The Tudors also leant their name to the title of an HBO series, Becoming Elizabeth explored the titular monarch’s formative years, The Spanish Princess followed Catherine of Aragon’s journey from Spain to become Henry’s first wife, and Anne Boleyn took the perspective of Henry’s doomed second wife. “I think about this a lot, and I sometimes wonder if it’s because it’s one of the earliest periods in British history from which we have an awful lot of material from the time,” suggests Gemma Burgess. “It also just feels so full of passion and real people. Every time you open a book, you’re like, ‘Wait, Robert Dudley’s wife was maybe pushed down the stairs and Elizabeth was behind it.’ There are just so many stories. We’re almost spoilt for stories to pick up and put down.” “And it was a time when these powerful … Continue reading Tall Tudor tale
