Anne Boleyn (TV series)

Last updated

Anne Boleyn
Anne boleyn 2021 title card.png
Genre Drama
Written byEve Hedderwick Turner
Directed byLynsey Miller
Starring Jodie Turner-Smith
Composer Keaton Henson [1]
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producer Dan Jones
Producers
  • Faye Ward
  • Hannah Farrell
Production companyFable Pictures
Original release
Network Channel 5
Release1 June (2021-06-01) 
3 June 2021 (2021-06-03)

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]

Contents

Premise

The series is set in Anne's final five months prior to her execution by beheading for treason in 1536. [4]

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date [5] U.K viewers
(millions)
1"Episode 1"Lynsey MillerEve Hedderwick Turner1 June 2021 (2021-06-01)1.44
2"Episode 2"Lynsey MillerEve Hedderwick Turner2 June 2021 (2021-06-02)1.05
3"Episode 3"Lynsey MillerEve Hedderwick Turner3 June 2021 (2021-06-03)1.00

Production

Development

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]

Casting

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]

Filming

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]

Release

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]

Reception

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 some criticism of the race swapping historical characters, as some of the actors were Black and the characters portrayed were White, such as Boleyn herself. [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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Boleyn</span> Queen of England from 1533 to 1536

Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution by beheading for treason, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the English Reformation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Seymour</span> Queen of England from 1536 to 1537

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 King Henry VIII 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hever Castle</span> Historic building in Kent, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippa Gregory</span> English historical novelist, born 1954

Philippa Gregory is an English historical novelist who has been publishing since 1987. The best known of her works is The Other Boleyn Girl (2001), which in 2002 won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association and has been adapted into two films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford</span> English nobleman, courtier and politician

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wives of Henry VIII</span> Queens consort of Henry VIII of England

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. However, 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.

<i>The Other Boleyn Girl</i> (2008 film) 2008 film by Justin Chadwick

The Other Boleyn Girl is a 2008 historical romantic drama film directed by Justin Chadwick. The screenplay by Peter Morgan was adapted from Philippa Gregory’s 2001 novel of the same name. It is a fictionalised account of the lives of 16th-century aristocrats Mary Boleyn, one-time mistress of King Henry VIII, and her sister, Anne, who became the monarch's ill-fated second wife.

<i>The Tudors</i> Historical fiction television series

The Tudors is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among American, British, and Canadian producers, and was filmed mostly in Ireland. While named after the Tudor dynasty as a whole, it is based specifically upon the reign of King Henry VIII.

<i>Henry VIII</i> (TV serial) British TV series or programme

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.

Events from the 1530s in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural depictions of Anne Boleyn</span>

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 numerous 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. Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII and was the mother of Elizabeth I. She has been called "the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had", as she provided the occasion for Henry VIII to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and declare the English church's independence from the Vatican.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joanna Vanderham</span> Scottish actress (born 1990)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Ridgway</span> British historian

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paapa Essiedu</span> English actor

Paapa Kwaakye Essiedu (;) is a British actor. For his performance in the miniseries I May Destroy You (2020), he received Primetime Emmy and British Academy Television Award nominations. He won the 2016 Ian Charleson Award for his roles in the Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Hamlet and King Lear.

Kiri is a four-part British television crime drama miniseries starring Sarah Lancashire. It aired on Channel 4 from 10 to 31 January 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jodie Turner-Smith</span> British actress, model (b. 1986)

Jodie Turner-Smith is a British actress and model. 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 television 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 series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on 15 November 2023.

References

  1. "Keaton Henson scores Channel 5's 'Anne Boleyn'". Faber Music. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  2. "Anne Boleyn to be played by Jodie Turner-Smith in new Henry VIII thriller for Channel 5 | Evening Standard". Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  3. Andreeva, Nellie (8 April 2021). "Jodie Turner-Smith Exits 'The Witcher: Blood Origin' Netflix Limited Series Due To Scheduling Issue". Deadline . Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  4. 1 2 Kanter, Jake (30 October 2020). "Jodie Turner-Smith To Play Anne Boleyn In Convention-Defying Channel 5 Series From Sony-Backed Fable Pics". Deadline . Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  5. Channel 5. "Anne Boleyn – Listings". Channel 5 . Retrieved 27 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. "Ben Frow pledges to 'shake up' Channel 5 programming". Televisual. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  7. 1 2 Carr, Flora (20 May 2021). "Anne Boleyn release date: Cast, trailer for Channel 5 drama starring Jodie Turner-Smith". Radio Times . Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  8. Ravindran, Manori (13 November 2020). "Jodie Turner-Smith's Anne Boleyn Drama Sets 'Game of Thrones' Star Mark Stanley as Henry VIII (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  9. Ramsden, Sam (1 June 2021). "All The Gorgeous Anne Boleyn Locations You Can Visit IRL". Bustle. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  10. Smith, Stephanie (3 June 2021). "The Yorkshire historic castles and stately homes used for filming the Channel 5 Anne Boleyn drama". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  11. Firth-Bernard, Bryony (9 April 2021). "Channel 5 releases first look trailer for new Anne Boleyn drama". Good Housekeeping . Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  12. "August 2021: Crave Streaming Overview". Bell Media . 22 July 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  13. "Anne Boleyn: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  14. Mangan, Lucy (1 June 2021). "Anne Boleyn review – spoiler alert: she won't make it out alive!". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  15. White, Adam (1 June 2020). "Anne Boleyn Review" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  16. Webb, Beth (3 June 2021). "Anne Boleyn Review". Empire. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  17. Solly, Meilan (3 June 2021). "Why the Controversy Over a Black Actress Playing Anne Boleyn Is Unnecessary and Harmful". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  18. Carr, Flora (3 June 2021). "Why Channel 5's Anne Boleyn is a Black woman – a look at the real Anne". Radio Times. Retrieved 10 January 2022.