Starz will bring us more The Snake Queen. Per Varietythe series has been officially renewed for Season 2. The announcement comes just days before the Season 1 finale, which will arrive on October 30. Starz’s president of original programming, Kathryn Busby, also released the following statement regarding the renewal.
“The Snake Queen is decidedly modern, darkly comic and utterly unexpected,” said Busby. “Catherine De Medici’s story is the perfect complement to our feminine forward slate, and Samantha Morton’s brilliant portrayal of this ruthless, charming and clever queen anchors the entire production. We’re excited to reveal and reign over more of her incredible life in season two, which promises to be even more provocative and sublime.”
After the life of Catherine de Medici, Queen of France in the 16th century, The Snake Queen was created by Justin Haythe and based on the Leonie Frieda book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France. The series stars Samantha Morton as the titular queen and the cast also includes Amrita Acharia, Barry Atsma, Enzo Cilenti, Sennia Nanua, Colm Meaney, Kiruna Stamell and Nicholas Burns. Liv Hill is also featured as a younger version of Morton’s Queen Catherine.
Catherine is not one-dimensional
There are many layers for Catherine in The Snake Queen, and she’s not an obvious hero or villain, but rather serves as an anti-hero. These qualities make Catherine a bit more human and even “modern,” according to the show’s creative team.
“Truly, Catherine’s story dictated how you should tell it because once you dived into her story, I immediately discovered how modern she is,” creator Justin Haythe told MovieWeb in an exclusive interview. “Catherine was truly one of a kind. I couldn’t think of a great antihero in period shows who happened to be a woman. And for that to work, I think the essential question had to be: is this a bad person capable of moments of goodness? Or is this a really good person willing to do bad things to survive?”
On why Morton was perfect for this role in many ways, Haythe added: “Samantha is incredibly direct and incredibly practical. And from that practical point of view, she’s always right. If she comes on a set and sees something, otherwise you’d be like If she was standing next to her in a hallway waiting to go to a set, she might turn to you and say, “You know, there should be more trails of smoke behind this candle.” And of course she’s right, those are the eyes she has.”