Historical figure Catherine de Medici gets the period-drama-with-a-twist treatment in Starz’s “The Serpent Queen,” as the show finds a unique way to tell the story of the Italian-born French queen who influenced her politics. did. country adopted for decades
Starring Samantha Morton as the adult queen, Catherine tells her story to a young woman working in the kitchen at her court – Rahima (Senia Nanua) – explaining to her (and the audience) how she has survived, found agency, and even That too was completed. A court is initially a young Katherine (played by Liv Hill), and always dangerous. But while Breaking the Fourth Wall, or at least talking to the camera, which often stands in for Rahima, can feel fresh for a television series, it’s inspired by classic theater works.
“Direct address, it has been around since the ancient Greeks and Shakespeare, but it creates something incredibly necessary,” executive producer Justin Heath told TheWrap. “But you’re right about the contemporary style of the show. Because when I first read the book, I didn’t want to do a period show, I didn’t want to do a royal show. But I wanted to do an anti-hero and In Catherine, I realized, I read and found a very modern hero that happened in the 16th century, and happened to be a woman, and I couldn’t think of a female antagonist that I had seen before. The thing that made it so relatable to me is that she’s an outsider. And so she’s telling the story to Rahima, especially… someone else who thinks they’re an outsider.”
When spectators meet the one-day queen, she hides in a nunnery, trying – in the form of an unpopular Medici whose familial power is waning – to keep a low profile. But her uncle Pope (“Game of Thrones” alum Charles Dance) manages to find her a match for the second son of the King of France. Before she can go to the French court, however, she is selected by a team of advisers, including a dressmaker and someone who is involved in the Dark Arts, all human weapons to her advantage.
“Katherine was a unique character because she wasn’t born royal, wasn’t considered attractive, wasn’t considered wealthy,” Hayth said. “And he was thrown into this royal court, and against all odds played the game better than anyone else. And the word is ‘sport’. And I think it made it contemporary, it modernized it, as well It was trying to respect what really mattered to the people of the day because otherwise, it’s hard to understand.”
Morton said he found Katherine to be unique.
“I think what Justin has done so brilliantly… there’s a different angle to how we’re going to see him and it says in the poster: ‘Tell me what you would have done differently,’ You know, watch my story and let me know if you would have done it differently,” Morton said. “This season is just a snippet of her story because you listen to the audiobook or you do some research, like ‘Oh my gosh.’ It’s really powerful stuff and quite extraordinary that he did what he did.”
Beyond those things, some are quite atrocious, which will become more apparent in the coming weeks, using their confidants to give themselves an advantage (it’s also to their advantage, to help them because They are foreigners in the French court), and go forth in the world. But Katherine has to learn to believe in herself to get things done.
“She can’t trust anyone in that court because they’re going to kill her. So she has to build this world out of herself by truly understanding nature, and herself and the power of expression and power of her own.” empowering,” Morton said. “So many women, so many people don’t understand how powerful they are in life. … we talk about positive thinking or affirmations – she was doing it as far back as the 1530s. She was someone who saw herself as intelligent, knowing that she was intelligent, that she could speak many languages, that her mathematical skills were incredible, that she could design gardens, that she was an astronomer and There was an astrologer, she was all these things. ,
“The Serpent Queen” premieres September 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Starz.