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The Tudors

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This article is about the television series. For the royal dynasty, see Tudor dynasty.

The Tudors
GenreHistorical drama
Created byMichael Hirst
Written byMichael Hirst
Starring
Theme music composerTrevor Morris
Country of originCanada
Ireland
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes38 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersMichael Hirst
Eric Fellner
Tim Bevan
Ben Silverman
Teri Weinberg
Sheila Hockin
ProducersJames Flynn
Gary Howsam
Production locationIreland
Running time55 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
CBC Television
Showtime
TV3 (Ireland)
Release1 April 2007 (2007-04-01) –
20 June 2010 (2010-06-20)

The Tudors is an English historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series, named after the Tudor dynasty, is loosely based upon the reign of King Henry VIII of England.[1][2]

Production

The series has been produced by Peace Arch Entertainment for Showtime in association with Reveille Productions, Working Title Television, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and was filmed in Ireland. The first two episodes debuted on DirecTV, Time Warner Cable OnDemand, Netflix, Verizon FiOS On Demand, Internet Movie Database and on the series' website before the official series premiere on Showtime. The Tudors' premiere on 1 April 2007, was the highest-rated Showtime series in three years.[3] In April 2007, the show was renewed for a second season,[3] and in that month the BBC announced it had acquired exclusive United Kingdom broadcast rights for the series, which it started to broadcast on 5 October 2007. Canada's CBC had begun broadcasting the show on 2 October 2007.[4]

Season Two debuted on Showtime on 30 March 2008, and on BBC 2 on 1 August 2008. Production on Season Three began on 16 June 2008 in Bray, County Wicklow Ireland,[5][6] and that season premiered on Showtime on 5 April 2009, and debuted in Canada on CBC on 30 September 2009. The day after broadcast, downloadable episodes debuted in Canada on MoboVivo.[7]

Showtime announced 13 April 2009, that it had renewed the show for a fourth and final season. The network ordered 10 episodes that were first broadcast on 11 April 2010.[8][9] The series finale was broadcast on 20 June 2010. The final season was shown in Canada on CBC starting 22 September 2010, and ending on 23 November 2010.

International distribution rights are owned by Sony Pictures Television International.

Synopsis

Season One chronicles the period of Henry VIII's reign in which his effectiveness as king is tested by international conflicts as well as political intrigue in his own court, while the pressure of fathering a male heir compels him to reject his wife, Katherine of Aragon,[10] in favour of Anne Boleyn. He also has a string of affairs and fathers an illegitimate son with his mistress, Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount. The son, Henry FitzRoy, later dies.

Season Two finds Henry as the head of the Church of England, the result of his break with the Catholic Church over its refusal to grant him a divorce from Katherine.[10] During his battle with Rome, he secretly marries a pregnant Anne, who later gives birth to his second daughter Elizabeth I. Anne's own failure to produce a son dooms her as Henry's attention shifts toward Jane Seymour.

Season Three focuses on Henry's marriages to Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves, the birth of his son Edward VI, his ruthless suppression of the Pilgrimage of Grace, the downfall of Thomas Cromwell, and the beginnings of Henry's relationship with the free-spirited Katherine Howard. Henry reconciles with his daughters Mary and Elizabeth.[11][12]

Season Four focuses on Henry's ill-fated marriage to Katherine Howard and his final, more congenial, marriage to Katherine Parr. The ageing king seeks military glory by capturing Boulogne, France. In his final hours, he is troubled by the ghosts of his dead wives.[13]

Cast

Main article: List of The Tudors characters
Role Actor Seasons
The King
Henry VIII of England Jonathan Rhys Meyers 1–4
The Queens
Catherine of Aragon[10] Maria Doyle Kennedy 1–2, 4 (Dream sequence)
Anne Boleyn Natalie Dormer 1–2, 4 (Dream sequence)
Jane Seymour Anita Briem 2
Annabelle Wallis 3, 4 (Dream sequence)
Anne of Cleves Joss Stone 3–4
Katherine Howard[12] Tamzin Merchant 3–4
Katherine Parr Joely Richardson 4
The King's Children
Princess Mary, daughter by Catherine of Aragon
Bláthnaid McKeown 1
Sarah Bolger 2–4
Princess Elizabeth, daughter by Anne Boleyn Kate Duggan 2
Claire MacCauley 3
Laoise Murray 4
Prince Edward, son by Jane Seymour Eoin Murtagh 4
Jake Hathaway 4
The King's Court
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk Henry Cavill 1–4
Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex James Frain 1–3
Sir Thomas More Jeremy Northam 1–2
Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton Frank McCusker 3-4
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Henry Czerny 1
Lady Elizabeth Blount Ruta Gedmintas 1
Sir Anthony Knivert Callum Blue 1
Thomas Wyatt Jamie Thomas King 1–2
Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire Nick Dunning 1–2
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford Padraic Delaney 1–2
Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford Joanne King 2–4
Lady Margaret 'Madge' Sheldon Laura Jane Laughlin 2
Mark Smeaton David Alpay 2
Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford Max Brown 2–4
Lady Anne Stanhope, Countess of Hertford Emma Hamilton 3–4
Thomas Seymour Andrew McNair 3–4
Sir Richard Rich Rod Hallett 2–4
Sir Francis Bryan Alan van Sprang 3
Earl of Shrewsbury Gavin O'Connor 3
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey[14] David O'Hara 4
Joan Bulmer Catherine Steadman 4
Sir Thomas Culpeper Torrance Coombs 3-4
Hans Holbein the Younger Peter Gaynor 1-4
Imperial Ambassador Eustace Chapuys Anthony Brophy 1–4
French Ambassador Charles de Marillac Lothaire Bluteau 4
Clergy
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York Sam Neill 1
Cardinal Campeggio John Kavanagh 1-2
John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester Bosco Hogan 1–2
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury Hans Matheson 2
Pope Paul III Peter O'Toole 2
Cardinal Otto Truchsess von Waldburg Max von Sydow 3
Cardinal Reginald Pole Mark Hildreth 3
Bishop Stephen Gardiner Simon Ward 3–4
Other
Margaret Tudor, Queen of Portugal, Princess of England, Duchess of Suffolk Gabrielle Anwar 1
Francis I of France Emmanuel Leconte 1–2
Catherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk Rebekah Wainwright 1-3
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury Kate O'Toole 1, 3
Margaret, Lady Bryan Jane Brennan 2–4
Philip, Duke of Bavaria Colin O'Donoghue 3
William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, Brother to Anne of Cleves Paul Ronan 3
Robert Aske Gerard McSorley 3
Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy Colm Wilkinson 3–4

Episodes

Main article: List of The Tudors episodes
Season # of episodes Season premiere Season finale
Season 1 10 1 April 2007 10 June 2007
Season 2 10 30 March 2008 1 June 2008
Season 3 8 5 April 2009 24 May 2009
Season 4 10 11 April 2010 20 June 2010

Departures from history

Many events in the series differ from events as they actually happened in history. Liberties are taken with character names, relationships, physical appearance and the timing of events.[1] As creator Hirst noted, "Showtime commissioned me to write an entertainment, a soap opera, and not history ... And we wanted people to watch it."[2] He added that some changes were made for production considerations and some to avoid viewer confusion, and that "any confusion created by the changes is outweighed by the interest the series may inspire in the period and its figures."[2]

Time is compressed in the series, giving the impression that things happened closer together than they actually did or along a different timeline. By the time of most of the events in this series, King Henry VIII was already in his mid-to-late 30s and at least a decade older than Anne Boleyn; they were not married until he was in his early 40s. In The Tudors, the two are cast younger (and seemingly closer in age) and the courtship lasts about ten episodes.[2] Historically, Cardinal Wolsey died in Leicester en route to London to answer charges of treason, while in the series he is imprisoned and commits suicide.[2] Wolsey's death came in 1530, three years before the death of Henry's sister; in the series, the two events are juxtaposed. The assassination attempt on Anne during her coronation procession was also invented by Hirst "to illustrate how much the English people hated her."[2]

The character of Henry's sister, called "Princess Margaret" in the series, is actually a composite of his two sisters: the life events of his younger sister, Princess Mary Tudor, coupled with the name of his elder sister, Margaret Tudor, to avoid confusion with Henry's daughter, Mary I of England.[2][15] Historically, Henry's sister Princess Mary first married the French King Louis XII. The union lasted approximately three months, until his death; Louis was succeeded by his cousin Francis I, who was married to Louis' daughter, Claude of France. Mary subsequently married Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. As The Tudors begins, Henry is already negotiating a peace treaty with Francis; the series' Princess Margaret thus marries a fictional very elderly Portuguese king, who lives only a few days until she smothers him in his sleep.[2][16] By the time of the events of this series, the historical Brandon (who was already in his early 40s) and Princess Mary were long married with three children. Henry's eldest sister, Margaret Tudor, was in fact married to King James IV of Scotland and was grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots.

The king's natural son Henry Fitzroy was shown dying at a very young age, when in fact he lived long enough to be a witness to Anne Boleyn's execution.

Charles V, King of the Romans, whose parents were rulers of Castille, is given a Spanish accent when dealing with the king of England (S1E3), when in fact he was Flemish born and French educated; indeed, it seems he never mastered Castilian, let alone spoke with a strong Spanish accent.

Thomas More is seen ordering the death of Simon Fish by burning at the stake. However, Simon Fish while arrested for heresy died in prison of bubonic plague. His widow married James Bainham (another outspoken religious reformer), who was ultimately burned at the stake by Thomas More. It appears that the writers have conflated Simon Fish with James Bainham.

Neither of Henry VIII's sisters, Margaret or Mary, was betrothed to the King of Portugal. Margaret died of a stroke as the Queen Dowager of Scotland, mother of James V. Mary returned after her French husband King Louis XII (Valois), who was 30 years her senior, died only two months after their marriage.

The Countess of Salisbury (Princess Mary's governess) was executed during Katherine Howard's time as Queen-consort. In the series, however, she (and her son, Lord Montagu) is executed before Henry meets Anne of Cleves.

At the welcoming reception for Anne of Cleves, Henry introduces his daughters as "Princess." As both Mary and Elizabeth were still considered by Henry to be illegitimate, he would never have accorded them such a title, as it would in effect be declaring them legitimate. Neither Mary nor Elizabeth ever regained the title of Princess, and continued to be known as "Lady" until they each in turn succeeded to the throne.

Mary Tudor is shown to be openly hostile towards Katherine Parr having discovered her Protestant view. Mary didn't fall out with Katherine until after Henry's death, when the Queen hastily married Thomas Seymour.

By the time of his 4th marriage (to Anne of Cleves), the real Henry was middle-aged, obese and balding - not a svelte, still relatively young man portrayed on the show.

Reception

The premiere of The Tudors on 1 April 2007, was the highest-rated Showtime series debut in three years.[3] On 23 March 2008, The New York Times called The Tudors a "steamy period drama ... [that] critics could take or leave, but many viewers are eating up."[2] A 28 March 2008 review, also by the New York Times, reported that the series "fails to live up to the great long-form dramas cable television has produced" largely because "it radically reduces the era's thematic conflicts to simplistic struggles over personal and erotic power."[1] Overall, the show had generally good reviews with 64% favourable reviews for the first season, 68% for the second and 72% for the third seasons, according to the ratings site Metacritic.

Ratings

In the United States, season 1: The series premiere at 10 pm drew almost 870,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. Coupled with the 404,000 viewers that tuned in the hour immediately following, Showtime averaged 1.3 million viewers for the show's debut night, the most since Fat Actress in March 2005. The 10 pm bow outperformed the inaugural linear screenings for Weeds and Dexter, the network's leading comedy and drama, by 78% in August 2005 and 44% in October 2006, respectively.

The series also proved its mettle opener in the digital realm, earning a combined 1 million views online and on-demand via cable affiliates and through Sho.com, and such partners as Yahoo, MSN, Netflix and IMDB. the numbers exclude contributions from AOL, DirecTV and Dish Network.[17]

Season 2: Showtime's 3 June 2008 second-season climax of The Tudors ended with a ratings bang. The episode drew 852,000 viewers for its season two finale, 83% above the 465,000 viewers that tuned into the show's season-one finale, Showtime officials said. The 9 pm telecast is also the second-highest for the series, trailing only the 964,000 viewers for the show's 1 April 2007 debut. The season-two finale, along with an 11 pm replay, drew a combined 1 million viewers, 59% above the previous year's 668,000 combined audience for the finale (10 p.m. and 11 pm).[18]

Media releases

DVD Name Release dates # of Ep Additional Information
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
Canada United States
Season One 8 January 2008[19] 10 December 2007[20] 19 March 2008[21] 10 The four-disc box set includes all 10 episodes. Bonus features include commentary tracks on selected episodes. There is a special edition in United Kingdom, with a headless picture for the cover, exclusive of Amazon.co.uk.[22] This season was released on Blu-ray in Europe and Canada.[23]
Season Two 11 November 2008[24] 6 January 2009[25] 13 October 2008[26] 7 July 2009[27] 10 The four-disc box set includes all 10 episodes. Bonus features include commentary tracks on selected episodes, as well as other featurettes. This season has also been released on Blu-ray in Europe and Canada.[28]
Season Three 10 November 2009[29] 15 December 2009[30] 7 December 2009[31] 23 November 2009[32] 8 The three disc box set includes all 8 episodes. Bonus features include audio commentary on certain episodes, an exclusive tour of Hampton Court and an interview with Joss Stone.
Season Four 9 November 2010 12 October 2010 21 March 2011[33] 24 November 2010[34] 10 The three-disc box set includes all 10 episodes.

An original soundtrack for each season, composed by Trevor Morris, has been released by Varèse Sarabande.

Season Release Date Catalog Number
Season One 12/11/07 302 066 867 2
Season Two 14 April 2009 302 066 959 2
Season Three 24 August 2010 302 067 039 2
Season Four 10/12/10 302 067 049 2

Awards and nominations

The Tudors was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series in 2007. Jonathan Rhys Meyers was also nominated for the Best Actor in a Television Drama Golden Globe for his role.[35]

The series was nominated for eight Irish Film and Television Awards in 2008 and won seven, including Best Drama Series, acting awards for Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Lead Actor), Nick Dunning (Supporting Actor) and Maria Doyle Kennedy (Supporting Actress), and craft awards for Costume Design, Production Design and Hair/Makeup.[36] Brian Kirk was also nominated for Directing, but lost to Lenny Abrahamson of Prosperity. The series won the 2008 Emmy Award for Best Costume Design, and later six awards at the Irish Film and Television Awards in 2009.[citation needed] In 2010 it was nominated for seven Irish Film and Television Awards, winning one in the category Best Supporting Actress in Television (Sarah Bolger).

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Bellafante, Ginia. "Nasty, but Not So Brutish and Short." The New York Times. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gates, Anita. "The Royal Life (Some Facts Altered)." The New York Times. 23 March 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2008.
  3. ^ a b c "Showtime's Tudors continues reign." Variety. 12 April 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  4. ^ "A slightly neutered Tudors." The Toronto Star. 28 September 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  5. ^ "Peace Arch(R) Entertainment Announces Renewal of Hit Series The Tudors." Money.CNN.com 24 April 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  6. ^ "Showtime Orders Season Three of The Tudors." The New York Times. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  7. ^ United States (5 May 2009). "MoboVivo Licenses Hollywood Hit Show, The Tudors". Techvibes.com. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Showtime renews – and ends – The Tudors". The Live Feed. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  9. ^ "Showtime Picks Up Fourth And Final Season Of The Tudors". BroadcastingCable.com. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  10. ^ a b c As established by the series credits and character list on the official website, the character's name is spelled Katherine with a "K" in contrast to the English language spelling "Catherine" usually used for the actual historical figure.
  11. ^ Ausiello, Michael (10 December 2008). "Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on One Tree Hill, Bones, SVU, Rescue Me, House, Psych, Grey's Anatomy, Pushing Daisies, Heroes, and More!". EW.com. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  12. ^ a b "The Tudors: Season 3, Episode 8". Sho.com. Retrieved 30 July 2009. [dead link]
  13. ^ "Showtime's Acclaimed Drama Series The Tudors Gets 4th Season Pick-up to End the Saga of Henry VIII". Sho.com. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  14. ^ 1 Like0 Dislike0 Jun 17, 2009 by Courtney O. (17 June 2009). "David O'Hara Set for The Tudors". MovieWeb.com. Retrieved 16 January 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Stanley, Alessandra. "Renaissance Romping With Henry and His Rat Pack." The New York Times. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  16. ^ It should be noted that there is no historical indication or evidence that Henry's sister Mary Tudor contributed to the death of Louis XII.
  17. ^ 'Tudors’ Reign In Premiere On Showtime Multichannel News, 8 April 2007
  18. ^ Showtime’s ‘Tudors’ Finale Commands Viewers Multichannel News, 3 June 2008
  19. ^ "''The Tudors'': The Complete First Season". Amazon.com. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  20. ^ "''The Tudors'': Complete BBC Series 1". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  21. ^ "''The Tudors'': Complete Third Series". ezydvd.com.au. 19 March 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  22. ^ "''The Tudors'': Complete BBC Series 1 (Limited Edition 'Headless' Sleeve)". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  23. ^ "''The Tudors'': Complete BBC Series 1 (Blu-ray)". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  24. ^ The Tudors: The Complete Second Season – Futureshop.ca
  25. ^ "The Tudors DVD news: Delay for The Tudors – The Complete 2nd Season". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  26. ^ "''The Tudors'': Complete BBC Series 2". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  27. ^ "''The Tudors'': Complete Third Series". ezydvd.com.au. 7 July 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  28. ^ "''The Tudors'': Complete BBC Series 2 (Blu-ray)". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  29. ^ "''The Tudors'': The Complete Third Season". TVShowsOnDVD. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  30. ^ "The Tudors Season 3 DVD". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  31. ^ "''The Tudors'': Complete Third Series". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  32. ^ "''The Tudors'': Complete Third Series". ezydvd.com.au. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  33. ^ "''The Tudors'': The Complete Fourth Season". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  34. ^ "Tudors, The – The Complete 4th Season: The Final Seduction (3 Disc Set)". Ezydvd.com.au. 24 November 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  35. ^ "Hollywood Foreign Press Association 2008 Golden Globe Awards For The Year Ended 31 December 2007". HFPA. 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2007. [dead link]
  36. ^ The Irish Film & Television Awards: 2008 Winners – IFTA.ie Retrieved 12 March 2008.

References

  • Davies, Norman. The Isles: A History. Oxford Univ. Press, USA, 2001.
  • Ives, Eric. The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn. Wiley-Blackwell, 2005.
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