Anne Boleyn | |
---|---|
Genre | Drama |
Written by | Eve Hedderwick Turner |
Directed by | Lynsey Miller |
Starring | Jodie Turner-Smith |
Composer | Keaton Henson [1] |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producer | Dan Jones |
Producers |
|
Production company | Fable Pictures |
Original release | |
Network | Channel 5 |
Release | 1 June – 3 June 2021 |
Anne Boleyn is a British three-part psychological thriller television miniseries developed for Channel 5 starring Jodie Turner-Smith in the title role. It was written by Eve Hedderwick Turner and directed by Lynsey Miller with historian Dan Jones as executive producer. [2] [3]
The series is set in Anne's final five months prior to her execution by beheading for treason in 1536. [4]
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [5] | U.K viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Episode 1" | Lynsey Miller | Eve Hedderwick Turner | 1 June 2021 | 1.44 |
2 | "Episode 2" | Lynsey Miller | Eve Hedderwick Turner | 2 June 2021 | 1.05 |
3 | "Episode 3" | Lynsey Miller | Eve Hedderwick Turner | 3 June 2021 | 1.00 |
Ben Frow of Channel 5 first mentioned the project at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in summer 2020. [6] The three-part "convention-defying" series from Fable Pictures was officially announced in October 2020, with Eve Hedderwick Turner as writer and Lynsey Miller as director. Faye Ward and Hannah Farrell of Fable produced and historian Dan Jones executive produced. The series "sets out to examine Anne Boleyn's life through a feminist lens as she struggles to conceive a boy heir and pushback against the society she was born into." [4] [7]
In October 2020, it was announced with the series that Jodie Turner-Smith would star as Anne Boleyn with Paapa Essiedu, Amanda Burton, Thalissa Teixeira, Barry Ward, and Jamael Westman also set to feature. Mark Stanley joined the cast as Henry VIII in November. [8]
Principal photography took place in Yorkshire over six weeks, finishing in December 2020. [7] Filming locations included Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, Bolton Castle in Wensleydale, Bolton Abbey in Wharfedale, Oakwell Hall in Birstall, St Michael's Church in Emley, Harewood House in Harewood, and Ripley Castle in Ripley. [9] [10]
The first episode premiered in the UK on Channel 5 on 1 June 2021. Sony Pictures Television co-financed the project with Channel 5 and distributed the series internationally. [11] The drama was released in the United States on AMC+ and on Crave in Canada. [12]
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 53% based on 17 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Though the show around her isn't quite up to snuff, there's no denying the pleasure of Jodie Turner-Smith's powerful turn as the one-and-only Anne Boleyn." [13]
The Guardian and The Independent both gave the drama 3 stars out 5. Lucy Mangan of the former said the series "works" but criticised its "silly surplus of metaphors" and portrayal of Henry. [14] Adam White of the latter found the show a "soapy romp" but that it made sense for the story being told. [15] Turner-Smith's performance was widely praised. Beth Webb of Empire called the series a "showcase of Jodie Turner-Smith's resilience as a performer" and mentioned how the "small but well-assembled supporting cast elevates her performance". [16]
There was several criticism of the race swapping historical characters and blackwashing, as some of the actors were black while the characters portrayed were white, such as Boleyn herself, highlighting above all the fact that it is a historical series with real and well-known historical characters as protagonists. [17] The Radio Times described this as "identity-conscious casting" and quoted the actor Mark Stanley: "It was all about this being the right person for the job, rather than what we as a society might perceive as the 'right look' for the job". [18]
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was accused by Henry of adultery after failing to produce the male heir he so desperately desired. Jane, however, died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of her only child, the future King Edward VI. She was the only wife of Henry to receive a queen's funeral; and he was later buried alongside her remains in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Hever Castle is located in the village of Hever, Kent, near Edenbridge, 30 miles (48 km) south-east of London, England. It began as a country house, built in the 13th century. From 1462 to 1539, it was the seat of the Boleyn family.
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford was an English courtier and nobleman who played a prominent role in the politics of the early 1530s as the brother of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII. George was the maternal uncle of Queen Elizabeth I, although he died long before his niece ascended the throne. Following his father's promotion in the peerage in 1529 to Earl of Wiltshire and Earl of Ormond, he adopted his father's junior title Viscount Rochford as a courtesy title. He was accused of incest with his sister Anne during the period of her trial for high treason, as a result of which both were executed.
In common parlance, the wives of Henry VIII were the six Queens consort of King Henry VIII of England between 1509 and his death in 1547. In legal terms, Henry had only three wives, because three of his marriages were annulled by the Church of England. He was never granted an annulment by the Pope as he desired, for Catherine of Aragon, his first wife. Annulments declare that a true marriage never took place, unlike a divorce, in which a married couple end their union. Along with his six wives, Henry took several mistresses.
Henry VIII is a two-part British television serial produced principally by Granada Television for ITV from 12 to 19 October 2003. It chronicles the life of Henry VIII of England from the disintegration of his first marriage to an aging Spanish princess until his death following a stroke in 1547, by which time he had married for the sixth time. Additional production funding was provided by WGBH Boston, Powercorp and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Henry VIII and His Six Wives is a 1972 British historical drama film directed by Waris Hussein, adapted from the 1970 miniseries, The Six Wives of Henry VIII. Keith Michell, who plays Henry VIII in the TV series, reprised his role. His six wives are portrayed by Frances Cuka, Charlotte Rampling, Jane Asher, Jenny Bos, Lynne Frederick, and Barbara Leigh-Hunt. Donald Pleasence portrays Thomas Cromwell and Bernard Hepton portrays Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, a role he had also played in the miniseries and briefly in its follow-up Elizabeth R.
Events from the 1530s in England.
Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England, and Queen of England from 1533 until she was beheaded in 1536 for treason, has inspired or been mentioned in many artistic and cultural works. The following lists cover various media, enduring works of high art, and recent representations in popular culture, film and fiction. The entries represent portrayals that a reader has a reasonable chance of encountering, rather than a complete catalogue.
Joanna Vanderham is a Scottish actress. She was nominated for an International Emmy Award for her debut role in the Sky One crime drama The Runaway (2011).
Mark Robert Speight, known professionally as Mark Stanley, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in Game of Thrones, Dickensian, and as Rob Hepworth in the third series of BBC drama Happy Valley.
Wolf Hall is a British television series adaptation of two of Hilary Mantel's novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, a fictionalised biography documenting the life of Thomas Cromwell.
Claire Ridgway is a British historian and author of books about the Tudor dynasty, with a particular focus on the life of the Boleyn family. Since 2009 she has run the websites TheAnneBoleynFiles.com and Elizabethfiles.com. In 2014, Claire founded The Tudor Society.
Paapa Kwaakye Essiedu is a British actor. He started his career in 2012 when he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company acting in numerous production including The Merry Wives of Windsor (2012), King Lear (2014), Hamlet (2016), and Romeo and Juliet (2016).
William Walter Douglas Howle is an English actor. His films include On Chesil Beach (2017), The Seagull (2018), and Outlaw King (2018). On television, he is known for his roles in the E4 drama Glue (2014), MotherFatherSon (2019), the BBC miniseries The Serpent (2021), the BritBox thriller series The Beast Must Die (2021), and the Netflix mystery series The Perfect Couple (2024).
Kiri is a four-part British television crime drama miniseries starring Sarah Lancashire. It aired on Channel 4 from 10 to 31 January 2018.
Six is a British musical comedy in the style of a pop concert. Its music, book, and lyrics were written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. It is a modern retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII, presented in the form of a singing competition. In the show, the wives take turns telling their story to determine who suffered the most from their shared husband, but ultimately seek to reclaim their individual identities and rewrite their stories.
Jodie Turner-Smith is a British actress. She made her feature film debut in The Neon Demon (2016) and has since acted in Queen & Slim (2019), After Yang (2022), and White Noise (2022). She is also known for her television roles in the TNT series The Last Ship (2017), the Syfy series Nightflyers (2018), and for portraying the title role in the Channel 5 series Anne Boleyn (2021).
The Essex Serpent is a British gothic romance period drama miniseries based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Perry. The series was written by Anna Symon, directed by Clio Barnard, and starred Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston in the lead roles. It premiered on Apple TV+ on 13 May 2022.
Jamael Anwar Hermitt-Westman is a British actor. He is best known for starring as the title role in the West End production of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical Hamilton, which earned him a Laurence Olivier Award nomination.
The Lazarus Project is a British science fiction television series created by Joe Barton and starring Paapa Essiedu. The series premiered on 16 June 2022. In August 2022, the show was renewed for a second series, which premiered on 15 November 2023. In March 2024, the show was cancelled after two series.
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