Don't Have Showtime? You're in Luck!

I was JUST thinking last night that we should hear of The Tudors coming to cable TV channels soon. It has been almost a year since season 4 aired on Showtime and sure enough, I received this on my reader this morning:

'Tudors' Reign Again On BBC America: Net Acquires Basic-Cable Rights To Showtime's Period Drama

Henry VIII, or at least Jonathan Rhys-Meyers' portrayal of him, will return to TV as BBC America has acquired the basic-cable rights to the former Showtime original drama series.

BBC America scored the right to all four seasons of the Showtime series from CBS Television Distribution. Deal terms for the 38-episode series, which will bow on Jan. 16, were not disclosed. The Tudors concluded its original run on Showtime, with a pair of Emmy scepters in hand, last spring.

BBC America will begin its re-air reign with an all-day marathon of the series on Jan. 16, when it will air the first two seasons, beginning at 9 a.m. (ET/PT). From there, the network, proffering a first look at the show to non-premium TV subscribers, will air the remaining installments on Tuesdays at 10 p.m., starting on Jan. 18.

The Tudors, an Ireland Canada Co-Production, was a presentation of Showtime in association with Peace Arch Entertainment and Take 5 Productions.

Shot in Ireland and created by English screenwriter, Michael Hirst (Elizabeth, Camelot), The Tudors also stars Jeremy Northam (Gosford Park) as Thomas More, Henry Cavill (Tristan & Isolde) as Charles Brandon, and Natalie Dormer (Casanova) as Anne Boleyn, as it covers the political, prurient and marital turbulence that marked Henry VIII's nearly 40-year reign over England in the 16th century.

The Tudors' Princess Mary: On the Market!

I'm finally moved into my new townhouse and able to do something other than unpack and call Comcast to fix my persistently non-functioning cable TV. I am just starting to catch up on all the Tudor news and happenings and found a lovely piece on www.Herald.ie on another of my favorite Tudor's actresses: Sarah Bolger.

Although she was linked romantically with the handsome son of the former US ambassador to Ireland, Tom Foley Jr., the 18 year old Bolger says they are actually best friends and that she is still single and available on the romantic market.

Sarah insists that she's too busy concentrating on her career to date. One of the stars of the Oscar-nominated movie In America, she has also been nominated for an IFTA for her role as Princess Mary Tudor, the future Mary I, on The Tudors.

Despite her tender years, she says her parents have no problem with her co-starring in such a saucy series detailing the exploits of her bed-hopping father, King Henry VIII,


"I have to admit, my character is the least sexually active! I had dresses that were buttoned up the whole way to the neck so I was quite modest -- but the Tudors is what it is. It's like the historical soap opera of the TV world -- I loved working on it. They have been like a family to me for the last three years."

The year ahead is also going to be a busy one for Sarah, as she will be making a new movie with Mary Harren, the director of American Psycho.

I STILL want Michael Hirst to do a mini-series on Bloody Mary starring Sarah Bolger for Showtime. (hint hint)

Life After The Tudors?

I am neglecting my blogger duties again due to my impending move. However I wanted to take a moment to post a note about Showtime and Michael Hirst's post-Tudor plan:

Showtime has confirmed it has picked up drama The Borgias for a full season. The broadcaster had commissioned the period drama as a successor to its current historical romp The Tudors which will bow out this year after four seasons. The Tudors concentrates on the reign of Henry VIII [Jonathan Rhys-Meyers] and his marriages but Showtime decided to conclude the series with its fourth season. The broadcaster then began to look for a successor to the drama and commissioned a script for the Borgias.

The drama follows the notorious Italian renaissance criminal family which was famously the centre of a poorly received drama by the BBC in the 1980s. The Showtime take on The Borgias will air in the Spring of next year and will star actor Jeremy Irons [Brideshead Revisited]. Showtime confirmed the drama’s commissioning at a press tour. Michael Hirst, who created and producers The Tudors, will serve as executive producer on the new drama along with Neil Jordan. Showtime has ordered 10 episodes which will go into production this spring.

The Tudors Replay

Some very exciting programming news (for American subscribers) from Showtime...

Just after the first of the year, Showtime plans to prepare for the new upcoming season of The Tudors as it has done every year, by replaying last season first. Since April will mark the fourth and final season of the series, Showtime plans to replay the entire series, beginning with Season 1 starting on January 3, 2010!!! We will be able to watch everything start to finish.

That's right, we get to watch Michael Hirst's intense portrayal of Henry's love affair with Anne Boleyn and Natalie Dormer's brilliant portrayal of the doomed queen of the thousand days, all over again.

(Okay, I own the DVDs and watch it all the time... but there's something about flipping through channels and stumbling upon it!)

And so it begins...

The Tudors: It's a WRAP!

The Showtime series The Tudors has just wrapped filming of the fourth and final season in Ireland.

I have very mixed feelings on the subject after my disappointment in season three... but in general, I am sad it is over. I also have very high hopes for season four, with the execution of Catherine Howard, Joely Richardson as Kateryn Parr and finally, the death of Henry VIII.

The huge project that was The Tudors was a very big event every year for the past four in Ireland. In honor of that, there is an excellent special feature on the IFTN (Irish Film & Television Network) website.
I'm VERY proud of Tudors' creator and writer Michael Hirst for FINALLY hitting back at Historian David Starkey for his non-stop criticism of himself and the show! Go Michael!!!
Check it out here!

The Tudors: Season 4 Premiere... with a FAT Henry???

Just got my press release from Showtime...

The Tudors Season Four will premier on Sunday night April 11th.
Looking forward to seeing the fall of Kitty Howard and Joely Richardson as Kateryn Parr. Here's a peek at Joely arriving on set in Ireland...

Gossip Columnist Liz Smith recently wrote a piece for Variety that claims that Jonathan Rhys Meyers has agreed to allow make-up artists on set to properly age him.

Interestingly, other outlets picked-up this story and claim in their items that he will be fat in the final season. Nowhere in that interview does Jonathan or Liz state that Henry will be corpulent, or for that matter even the least bit pudgy!!!

In fact, here is the excerpt from Variety:

He will now appear as the older, more debauched Henry VIII. I am told that Jonathan has actually consented to "some aging." After all, he was, from the beginning, such an unlikely -- though brilliant -- choice for the role of the red-haired English monarch, and he got through most of this amazing series looking ravishing.


Look for the graying hair and prosthetic wrinkles, but don't expect Jonathan to pull a Tom Cruise... Here is a shot of JRM on set of season 4... a lil gray, but NOT fat!

However... they DO seem to be fattening the delicious Henry Cavill as Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk. Here's a photo posted on the TudorsWiki on Sho.com

Kateryn Parr Cast!

Just when I stopped showing much Tudors love, they go and do something that makes me SO HAPPY!
Actress Joely Richardson has been cast as Kateryn Parr, Henry VIII's sixth wife, for the fourth and final season of the Showtime series The Tudors. YES! Love, love, LOVE her! I forgave the whole 2 Jane Seymours debacle, didn't much mind Joss Stone as Anna of Cleves, but that Tamsin girl as Catherine Howard is just not right. I'm sorry, but after the parade of beauties in seasons 1 & 2, how could they cast a girl who is NOT at all attractive to play a notorious seductress?

They have completely redeemed themselves with the casting of Joely! Not only has she been fabulous in Nip/Tuck, but I loved her as Marie Antoinette in The Affair of the Necklace, opposite Mel Gibson in The Patriot and as an evil Nazi sympathizer in Shining Through. She can do period VERY well and she is a perfect age to go opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers... even if he isn't the right age or size for Henry in in the 1540's!

Fixing The Tudors?

About a week ago the Primetime Emmy Nominations were announced in Los Angeles. Now, I don't want to take anything away from the crew of the Showtime series The Tudors, so I will first congratulate them on these noms:

* Outstanding Art Direction For A Single-Camera Series
* Outstanding Casting For A Drama Series
* Outstanding Cinematography For A One Hour Series
* Outstanding Costumes For A Series
* Outstanding Hairstyling For A Single-Camera Series

I have made no secret of the fact that I was not at all satisfied with this past season of the Tudors (Season 3 in America). I am not at ALL surprised to see the lack of acting nods. This was not the finest hour for the show nor for the cast. I still believe many of them capable of delivering great performances, but this season's scripts just didn't deliver the juicy, clever story lines to which we have become accustomed.

To my great surprise, I was recently contacted about these opinions by those looking to make season 4 a greater success. Unfortunately, I cannot go into detail, as I signed a confidentiality agreement. I will say only that clearly, I am NOT alone in noticing the departure this past season and wishing for the Tudors we saw in seasons 1 & 2. (It can never be the same without the brilliant story involving Anne Boleyn and actress Natalie Dormer, but I have no doubt that writer Michael Hirst can recapture the magic!)

In my opinion, focusing too much on the Pilgrimage of Grace and other uprisings is alienating The Tudors' core audience: women. You cannot take a series for which you built a following of mainly women by focusing on a love triangle and shift it entirely to warfare and politics in season 3! It seems quite obvious to me, but we will have to see if Hirst & Co. have learned their lesson for season 4.

** On a side note, although I was - at first - understanding of the decision to not fatten Henry in the series, I have since changed my mind and believe it to be a BIG mistake.

King Henry Back to Work after Bender...

Jonathan Rhys Meyers was back to work this week on the set of his Showtime hit, The Tudors, after being arrested for causing a drunken brawl in Charles de Gaulle Airport last month.

Filming of the fourth and final season of The Tudors continued in County Wicklow, Ireland with Meyers sporting grey streaks in his hair and beard to portray the aging Henry VIII (although still a tenth of his real size!).

Meyers has a September court date to answer for his behavior and threats that he would "kill" the airport staff.

"The Tudors" Star Arrested...Again

Amidst all of the tragic news about celebrity today, one story concerning a star of The Tudors seemed to sneak through unnoticed...

Jonathan Rhys Meyers fell off the wagon again and was arrested after attacking several people at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. The 31-year-old, who plays King Henry VIII in The Tudors, was allegedly drunk when he launched the assault in front of astonished onlookers.
"He was like a man possessed," said a witness. "He'd been drinking heavily while waiting for a flight home from France. He got into an argument with bar staff who refused to serve him any more. There was some pushing and shoving, and when a waiter intervened he was punched full in the face.
"There were further attacks on other airport employees. Rhys Meyers was shouting things like 'I'll kill you all' at the top of his voice.
"Everyone recognised him as the guy who plays Henry VIII. When the police turned up he was handcuffed and pushed on to the ground.
"He was insulting the police and saying he could buy himself out of any problems, even throwing money on the ground so as to prove how much he was worth."
The assault took place in Le Quotidien bar in terminal 2F at Charles de Gaulle airport on Saturday afternoon.
A spokesman for Paris police said Rhys Meyers was held for three hours so as to "sober up".
He was then bailed to appear before magistrates on charges of "willful violence, outrage, hitting and threatening death."
Rhys Meyers was previously arrested for being drunk and disorderly at Dublin airport in November 2007, and then went into a rehabilatation centre. He reportedly entered rehab again in 2009.
A spokesman for Rhys Meyers said he had no comment.

Addition to The Tudors Season 4

Actor David O'Hara will join "The Tudors" for the fourth and final season on Showtime. O'Hara plays the Earl of Surrey, the son and heir of the Duke of Norfolk. According to the press release, he is the arrogant but sensitive scion of an ancient family.
You may recognize O'Hara from a couple of his previous projects in which he worked with other Tudors' actors like as Donnchadh (King of Ireland) in Tristan+Isolde (in which he starred alongside Henry Cavill and Jamie King) and as Sean Kelly in The Matchmaker (as Maria Doyle Kennedy's brother).

A little background on Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey: He was the son of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and that makes him Anne Boleyn's first cousin. Although historically he accompanied Anne and Henry VIII on their trip to France to formally present Anne to Francois I as the future Queen of England, the series The Tudors has not introduced him before now. It should be interesting to see how Michael Hirst writes Surrey into the show seeing as they have written-out his closest family and friends. His father, the Duke of Norfolk, played by Henry Czerny in season one has been greatly missed since not returning. Personally, I would have loved to have seen his crucial part in Anne's downfall and execution. Hirst could have played out the dramatic moment that Norfolk was forced to condemn his own niece and nephew to death.

As for his friends, after Anne's beheading at the end of season two, we saw no more of poet Thomas Wyatt, played by the adorable Jamie Thomas King even though his life was spared and he was released from the Tower. Surrey was a contemporary of Wyatt and shares with him the title of "Father of the English Sonnet." Surrey's closest friend growing up was Henry Fitzroy, whom Hirst chose to kill-off at a historically inaccurate age in season one.

The Tudors is currently shooting in Ireland.

The Tudors: Season 3

(Attention: If you are in the UK, this post may contain spoilers!)

I was looking through some of the posts on the Showtime website about season three of The Tudors and decided I wanted to post my opinions here. Anyone with even a remote knowledge of me and my life knows my love of the show The Tudors. I have had the utmost respect for writer/producer Michael Hirst ever since I first laid eyes on his movie, Elizabeth. The fact that he writes every single word of the show - in an age of teams of writers for reality TV shows - leaves me completely in awe. In fact, I credit Michael Hirst with my newly launched passion for Anne Boleyn and Tudor History. (More on that in another post)

Throughout seasons one and two of The Tudors, I would awake early every Sunday, make myself a vanilla cappuccino and watch the new episode of The Tudors a whole week early On Demand. I could hardly wait for my Sunday ritual! Then I would watch the current week's episode (which I'd already viewed last Sunday morning) that night and every night it was on after. Really! I loved the show THAT much! And I was NEVER disappointed. Merely hearing the theme song gave me goosebumps In fact, it's my ringtone! In contrast: during season three, there were Sunday nights I didn't even remember to switch over to Showtime until The Tudors was already on.

I must admit that I went into it with slightly lowered expectations. My love for actress Natalie Dormer and her insanely brilliant portrayal of Anne Boleyn could only set me up for disappointment in a season after her execution. Unfortunately, Natalie/Anne's absence left a vacuum which could not be filled, even with a new and improved Jane Seymour.
Casting directors replaced season 2's Jane, Anita Briem, with Annabelle Wallis, but never announced why. Although I didn't dislike Anita as much as other viewers, given more lines in the season finale, her accent began to reveal itself as sounding too Scottish. Not that it mattered much, as Hirst had Queen Jane dead very early in season 3. He had to, because the season was only 8 episodes instead of the previous ten.






Jane v. Jane










For me, the biggest complaint with season 3 was the focus on the Pilgrimage of Grace, the rebels and random violence instead of the character studies I enjoyed so much in seasons 1 & 2. In fairness, history doesn't lend itself to the same examinations of Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard as it does to Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon. However, this was where I would have loved to see Hirst take dramatic license and look deeper into the ladies' relationships with Henry and his courtiers.

Bottom line: I was disappointed in season 3 and I do not have the highest hopes for season 4, unless Michael Hirst goes back to the formula he used to make seasons 1 & 2 so compelling.

Season 4 will also be the final season of The Tudors. This is also a travesty, as I believe that Hirst and company have chosen a great actress in Sarah Bolger as Mary Tudor and could easily move forward in the Tudor Dynasty while regaining some of that dramatic magic I grew to love and look forward to every Sunday.