''The Serpent Queen'' is an American

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

television series about the life of

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...

, the 16th century

Queen of France This is a list of the women who were queens or empresses as wives of French monarchs from the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which gave rise to West Francia, until 1870, when the French Third Republic was declared. Living wives of reigning monarchs te ...

, as portrayed by

Samantha Morton Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress. She is known for her work in independent film with dark and tragic themes, particularly in period dramas. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including the BAFTA Fellowship ...

. The series was created by Justin Haythe and is based on the 2004 nonfiction book ''Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France'' by Leonie Frieda. ''The Serpent Queen'' premiered on

Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

on September 11, 2022. In October 2022, Starz renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on July 12, 2024. In October 2024, the series was canceled after two seasons.

Plot

The series follows the story of Catherine de' Medici, who marries into the French Valois court as a fourteen year-old teenager expected to bring in a fortune in dowry and produce heirs. Despite many challenges, a lifetime of clever political maneuvering allows her to rule France as queen for 30 years.

Cast and characters

Main

, Queen of France **

Liv Hill Liv Hill (born 22 June 2000) is a British actress. She received accolades for her roles in the BBC miniseries '' Three Girls'' (2017) and the films ''Jellyfish'' and ''The Little Stranger'' (2018). She has since appeared in '' The Fight'' (201 ...

(season 1) as the younger Catherine, Duchess (''Duchessina'') of Urbino *

Amrita Acharia Amrita Acharia (, also spelled Acharya) is a British actress of Nepalese Ukrainian origins. She is best known for her roles as Irri in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' and as Dr. Ruby Walker in the ITV series '' The Good Karma Hospital''. ...

as Aabis, a

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

woman who is part of young Catherine's entourage * Ruby Bentall as Angelica, daughter of a famed perfumier who accompanies Catherine to France * Barry Atsma (season 1) and

Alexandre Willaume Alexandre Willaume (born 20 December 1972) is a Danish actor having had roles in '' Home Fires'' (2016), ''Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets'' and ''The Last Kingdom '' (2017), ''Tomb Raider'' (2018), '' COBRA'' and '' The Head '' ( ...

(season 2) as Montmorency, a member of King Francis's privy council and later the Constable General of France *

Enzo Cilenti Vincenzo Leonardo "Enzo" Cilenti (born 8 August 1974) is a British actor. Film credits include '' Wonderland'' (1999), ''24 Hour Party People'' (2002), '' Millions'' (2004), ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' (2014), '' The Theory of Everything'' (201 ...

as Cosimo Ruggeri, an Italian fortune teller brought to France by Catherine * Sennia Nanua (season 1) and Emma McDonald (season 2) as Rahima, Catherine's new maid who rises to a powerful position in the court * Kiruna Stamell as Mathilde (season 1), Catherine's dwarf maid * Nicholas Burns as

Antoine de Bourbon Antoine (, , 22 April 1518 – 17 November 1562), sometimes called Antoine of Bourbon, was King of Navarre from 1555 until his death in 1562 as the husband and co-ruler of Queen Jeanne III. He was the first monarch of the House of Bourbon, of wh ...

, elder son of Charles de Bourbon *

Beth Goddard Elizabeth Jane Goddard (born 31 March 1969) is a British actress known for her role as Suze Littlewood in the BBC comedy series '' Gimme Gimme Gimme''. Early life Goddard grew up in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, and attended Clacton County High Sch ...

as Antoinette de Guise, Claude's wife, the mother of Francois and Charles, and the grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots *

Raza Jaffrey Raza Jaffrey (born May 28 1975) is a British actor who is known for his roles as Zafar Younis in the BBC One spy drama series '' Spooks'' (2004–2007) and Neal Hudson in the CBS medical drama '' Code Black'' (2015). He also had a recurring role ...

as Francois, Duc de Guise, elder son of Claude de Guise * Danny Kirrane as Louis de Bourbon, Antoine's younger brother *

Ray Panthaki Ray Panthaki (; born 20 January 1979) is a British actor, producer, screenwriter and director best known for the roles he played in '' Marcella'' (2016–2020), ''Away'' (2020), and the movie ''Boiling Point'' (2021), for which he was nominated fo ...

as Charles, Cardinal de Guise, the Duc de Guise's younger brother * Angus Imrie as Henri of Navarre, later Henry IV (season 2), the son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d’Albret *

Bill Milner William Henry Milner (born 4 March 1995) is an English actor. He starred as Will Proudfoot in '' Son of Rambow'' (2007), Edward in ''Is Anybody There?'' (2008), and the young Erik Lensherr in '' X-Men: First Class'' (2011). Early life William ...

as Charles IX (season 2), Catherine and Henri II's second son, and the King of France ** Jordan Bigot and Yngve Sanchez Beuthe portray the younger Charles in season 1 * Stanley Morgan as the Duke of Anjou, later Henry III (season 2), Catherine and Henri II's son and the younger brother of Charles IX * Philippine Velge as

Margot Margot ( , ) is a feminine given name, a French language, French diminutive of Marguerite (given name), Marguerite that has long been used as an independent name. Variant spellings in use include Margo (given name), Margo and Margaux (name), Margaux ...

(season 2), Catherine and Henri II's youngest daughter

Recurring

Ludivine Sagnier Ludivine Sagnier (born 3 July 1979) is a French actress, known to international audiences for the films ''Swimming Pool'' and ''Peter Pan'' (both 2003), and the Netflix series ''Lupin'' (2021–present). She has also appeared in the English-langua ...

Diane de Poitiers Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and courtier who wielded much power and influence as King Henry II of France, Henry II's Maîtresse-en-titre, royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position inc ...

, Henri's older mistress (season 1; guest season 2) * Paul Chahidi as Charles de Bourbon (season 1), another member of the privy council *

Navid Negahban Navid Negahban () is an Iranian-American actor. He has appeared on '' 24'', ''Homeland'', '' Mistresses'', and as Amahl Farouk / Shadow King in the second and third seasons of FX's '' Legion''. He has also starred as the Sultan in the live-ac ...

as Claude, Duke de Guise (season 1), the third member of the privy council *

Naomi Battrick Naomi Faye Battrick (born 11 April 1991) is an English actress. Career Battrick was born in Kettering, Northamptonshire. Her first television appearance was in a guest role on ''The Bill'' as Miranda Roscoe. She subsequently won the part of 15- ...

as Anne d'Etampes (season 1), one of Francis I's mistresses *

Colm Meaney Colm J. Meaney (; ; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor. Known for his performances across screen and stage, he has received seven nominations from the Irish Film & Television Academy, winning twice for 2001's '' How Harry Became a Tree'', and ...

as Francis I (season 1) *

Rebecca Gethings Rebecca Gethings is an English actress best known for her roles in film and television comedies such as ''The Thick of It'', '' Extras'', '' The Mimic'', '' David Brent: Life on the Road'' and ''Call the Midwife''. Early life Rebecca Gethings ...

Queen Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It was the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages">Provençal dialect ...

(season 1) * Gemma Dobson as Nathalie (season 1), a kitchen servant * Antonia Clarke as

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

(season 1; guest season 2) *

Steve Furst Steven Jonathan Furst (born 3 September 1967) is a British comedian, actor and writer. He appeared in the Orange mobile phone cinema adverts in the UK (with Brennan Brown), playing the role of Eliot, a spoof studio executive, and has appea ...

as Dr. Fernel *

Lee Ingleby Lee David Ingleby (born 28 January 1976) is an English actor who first gained attention with his leading role in the BBC Two miniseries ''Nature Boy'' (2000). His other notable roles include Detective Insp. John Bacchus on the BBC's ''Inspector ...

as Henri II (season 1) ** Alex Heath portrays the younger Henri, the Duke of Orleans and second son of King Francis, who marries Catherine * George Jaques as Francis II (season 1), Catherine and Henri II's eldest son * Jean-Stan Du Pac (season 1) and Mikaël Mittelstadt (season 2) as Matisse, a boy who becomes Sebastio's apprentice and befriends Aabis, who later becomes like a son to her * Jade Croot (season 1) and Isobel Jesper Jones (season 2) as Edith, a Protestant girl protected by Montmorency who becomes a preacher * Laura Marcus as Elisabeth (season 2), Catherine and Henri II's oldest daughter * Scott Folan as Hercule (season 2), Catherine and Henri II's younger son * Neill Murray as Balsac (season 2), Anjou's

mignon ''Mignon'' () is an 1866 ''opéra comique'' (or opera in its second version) in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's 1795-96 novel '' Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre''. ...

* Henry Felix as Lemur, Anjou's mignon (season 2) * Alexander Ferrario as Caylus, Anjou's mignon (season 2) *

Rosalie Craig Rosalie Mae Craig (born May 30, 1980) is an English actress, noted for her performances in musical theatre. In 2013, she received her first major award, a London Evening Standard Award for Best Performance in a Musical. Life and career Craig ...

Jeanne d'Albret Jeanne d'Albret (, Basque language, Basque: ''Joana Albretekoa''; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Joana de Labrit''; 16 November 1528 – 9 June 1572), also known as Jeanne III, was Queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572. Jeanne was the daughter of He ...

(season 2), the queen of Navarre, wife of Antoine and mother of Henry IV

Guest

* Louis Landau as Dauphin François (season 1), King Francis's firstborn son *

Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing intimidating, authoritarian characters and villains. Dance started his career on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) before appearing in film an ...

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...

(season 1) *

Adam Garcia Adam Garcia is an Australian actor who is best known for lead roles in musicals such as '' Saturday Night Fever'' and '' Kiss Me, Kate''. He is also a trained tap dancer and singer. Garcia has been nominated twice at the Laurence Olivier Award ...

as Sebastio (season 1), young Catherine's

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or vi ...

Memet Ali Alabora Memet Ali Alabora (born 25 November 1977) is a Turkish film and theatre actor. He is the son of actors Mustafa Alabora and Betül Arım. He is best known for hit crime comedy "Yılan Hikayesi". With Sanem Çelik, he played together in the h ...

as Sultan Suleiman (season 1) * Anna Cottis as Cook (season 1) *

David Denman David Denman (born July 25, 1973) is an American actor. He made his film debut in '' The Replacements'' (2000) before his breakout role as Roy Anderson on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2008; 2011–2012), which earned him a Screen Actors ...

as Pierre Marques (season 1) * Katie Haigh Mayet as Geraldine Marques (season 1), Pierre's wife *

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupil at an English public scho ...

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

* Nicolas Robin as

Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery, Lord of Lorges and Ducey (5 May 153026 June 1574), was a French nobleman of Scottish extraction and captain of the Scots Guard of King Henry II of France. He is remembered for mortally injuring Henry II in ...

(season 1) * James Gerard as Tancrede, the servant of Louis de Bourbon * Robin Greer as Thomas (season 2), the secret boyfriend of Francois, Duc de Guise *

Minnie Driver Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is a British and American actress and singer. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in the 1995 film ''Circle of Friends (1995 film), Circle of Friends''. She went on to star i ...

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

(season 2), Queen of England *

Alex Price Alex Price (born 8 May 1985) is a British actor who has appeared in various television programmes including '' Being Human'', ''Merlin'' and ''Doctor Who''. He starred in feature-length films, such as '' A Horse with No Name'', and in a variet ...

as Lord Throckmorton (season 2), Elizabeth's councilor ) *

Ashley Thomas Ashley Thomas is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by John Middleton. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 5 December 1996. It was announced on 22 October 2015 that Middleto ...

as Alessandro de Medici (season 2), Catherine's illegitimate half brother * Paulo dos Santos as Prince

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

(season 2), the son of the Holy Roman Emperor * Lilea Le Borgne as Sisi of Austria (season 2), Charles's love interest

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2022)

Season 2 (2024)

Production

Development

In February 2021,

granted an eight episode series based upon the book ''Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France'' by Leonie Frieda, with Justin Haythe set to serve as a writer and executive producer, with

Francis Lawrence Francis Lawrence (born March 26, 1971) is an American filmmaker and producer. After establishing himself as a director of music videos and commercials, Lawrence made his feature-length directorial debut with the superhero thriller ''Constantine ...

and

Erwin Stoff Erwin Stoff (born 26 April 1951 in Vorona) is a Romanian-born American film producer. He is best known for being the president of company 3 Arts Entertainment, Inc., based in Beverly Hills, CA. Among his credits are ''The Matrix'', '' Beautifu ...

also set to executive produce.

Stacie Passon Stacie Passon (born October 1, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer whose first film, ''Concussion (2013 film), Concussion'', was premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and subsequently won a Teddy Award Jury Prize ...

will direct multiple episodes of the series, including the pilot. Production companies involved in the series were slated to consist of

Lionsgate Television Lionsgate Television is the television division of the American production company Lionsgate Studios. History The company was established in July 1997 as Lions Gate Television, Inc. with the establishment of Lionsgate Films. In June 1998, it ...

and

3 Arts Entertainment 3 Arts Entertainment, formerly 3 Arts Productions, is an American film and television production company founded in 1991 by Erwin Stoff, Michael Rotenberg and Howard Klein. The company has gone on to produce television series such as ''King o ...

. Starz renewed the series for a second season on October 27, 2022. Lorris Chevalier is the historical advisor. On October 9, 2024, the series was canceled after two seasons.

Casting

In April 2021,

joined the cast as

. In May 2021,

, Barry Atsma, Nicholas Burns and Danny Kirrane joined the cast in starring roles, while

, Kiruna Stamell, and

in recurring capacity. In June 2021,

joined the cast of the series. In August 2021, it was announced

, Sennia Nanua,

and Alex Heath had joined the cast of the series, in undisclosed, starring and recurring capacities, respectively. New cast members for season two were announced in March 2024, including

in the recurring role of Queen

, Emma McDonald as a recast Rahima, as well as series regulars Angus Imrie, Stanley Morgan and Philippine Velge. Also recurring will be

, Rosalie Craig, Isobel Jesper Jones and Alexandre Willaume.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

of the first season began in April 2021 in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and in the

Loire Valley The Loire Valley (, ), spanning , is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about . It is r ...

in France and in the

Papal Palace Palace of the Popes may refer to: * Apostolic Palace, Vatican City State – the pope's residence since the return from Avignon in 1377 * ''Domus Sanctae Marthae'', Vatican City – also known as Saint Martha's House, the Vatican hotel where Pope ...

in Italy.

Music

Release

''The Serpent Queen'' premiered on

on September 11, 2022. The second season premiered on July 12, 2024.

Reception

On the review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, 100% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's consensus reads, "''The Serpent Queen'' dramatizes one of history's most infamous monarchs with a deft, sardonic touch, with Samantha Morton's commanding star turn likely to swallow viewers' attention whole."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 76 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Serpent Queen, The 2022 American television series debuts 2024 American television series endings 2020s American drama television series American English-language television shows Cultural depictions of Catherine de' Medici Cultural depictions of Charles IX of France Cultural depictions of Henry IV of France Starz original programming House of Medici Television series by 3 Arts Entertainment Television series by Lionsgate Television Television series set in the 16th century Television shows based on non-fiction books Television shows set in France