Becoming Elizabeth is a historical drama series, created by Anya Reiss, that follows the younger years of Queen Elizabeth I. It premiered on Starz on June 12, 2022.[1]
| Becoming Elizabeth | |
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| Genre | Drama Historical fiction |
| Created by | Anya Reiss |
| Written by |
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| Starring |
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| Composer | Tim Phillips |
| Country of origin |
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| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Lisa Osborne |
| Production company |
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| Release | |
| Original network | Starz |
| Original release | 12 June (2022-06-12) – 7 August 2022 (2022-08-07) |
The series follows the younger years of Queen Elizabeth I, an orphaned teenager who becomes embroiled in the politics of the English court on her journey to secure the crown.[citation needed]
| No. | Title [2] | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [2] | U.S. viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Keep Your Knife Bright" | Justin Chadwick | Anya Reiss | June 12, 2022 (2022-06-12) | 0.158[3] | |
| The death of Henry VIII leaves England in turmoil. His three surviving legitimate children Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward are told and Edward is proclaimed king as Edward VI of England. Edward begins his reign with his uncle and Lord Protector, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset by his side. Henry's widow Catherine Parr marries Thomas Seymour. Elizabeth and Lady Jane Grey move into Catherine's Chelsea residence as the wards of Catherine and Thomas. Fourteen-year-old Elizabeth becomes infatuated with the much older Thomas, who indulges and preys upon her. | ||||||
| 2 | "You Cannot Keep The Birds From Flying Over Your Head" | Justin Chadwick | Anya Reiss | June 19, 2022 (2022-06-19) | 0.156[4] | |
| A suggestive court performance mocking Catholicism and the Pope upsets devout Mary. The strong sense of anti-Catholicism continues to mount at court. Mary warns Elizabeth about Catherine Parr and suggests that Elizabeth live with her. Edward begs Mary to convert to Protestantism, which she refuses to do. Elizabeth is torn between her siblings. Elizabeth and Thomas Seymour's relationship grows more intimate. Thomas and Edward Seymour are in conflict. Mary asks for Elizabeth’s support for her religious liberty, which Elizabeth refuses. | ||||||
| 3 | "Either Learn Or Be Silent" | Justin Chadwick | Anya Reiss | June 26, 2022 (2022-06-26) | 0.140[5] | |
| To her dismay, Catherine Parr learns that she is with child. The Catholic Bishop of Winchester Stephen Gardiner is released from the Tower of London and appointed to the privy council in an attempt to appease Mary. Thomas and Catherine plan a spectacular birthday party for Elizabeth, in order to bring Edward to their home and forward a plan to marry their ward Lady Jane Grey to the king. The party backfires after Elizabeth learns the true intention behind the event and sabotages the evening. Catherine discovers Elizabeth and Thomas's relationship, and sends Elizabeth away from their home. | ||||||
| 4 | "Lighten Our Darkness" | Justin Chadwick | Anya Reiss | July 3, 2022 (2022-07-03) | 0.128[6] | |
| Now living with at the house of Sir Anthony Denny, brother-in-law of her governess Kat Ashley, Elizabeth attempts to move on from what happened at Chelsea. A Catholic church is ransacked and the priest assaulted as religious turmoil escalates. Elizabeth is noticeably absent from court. She is visited by both Mary and her friend Robert Dudley. Rumours fly about Elizabeth and Thomas Seymour. Catherine gives birth to a daughter, but soon dies of childbed fever. The Chelsea house reverts to the Crown and is assigned to Elizabeth, who moves in with her household. Elizabeth returns to court and pledges loyalty to her brother. Thomas Seymour urges Elizabeth to marry him now he is widowed. | ||||||
| 5 | "Necessity Compels Me To Plague You" | Udayan Prasad | Anna Jordan | July 10, 2022 (2022-07-10) | 0.114[7] | |
| Widowed Thomas Seymour pines after Elizabeth and seeks her hand in marriage. Lord Protector Edward Seymour attempts to organise a secret deal with the French ambassador without the king's knowledge; this is eventually discovered and angers the king. Elizabeth agrees to marry Thomas if they obtain Edward Seymour's permission, but Edward refuses to give this. In retaliation, Thomas Seymour makes a failed attempt to kidnap the king. Thomas is detained, while Elizabeth is implicated and presented with a warrant for her arrest. | ||||||
| 6 | "What Cannot Be Cured" | Udayan Prasad | Emily Ballou | July 17, 2022 (2022-07-17) | 0.151[8] | |
| Elizabeth is held under house arrest following Thomas Seymour's capture, and is interrogated by John Dudley. Dudley and his sons are sent by Edward Seymour to put down a peasant rebellion. While doing so, the Dudleys stay with the Robsart family and Robert Dudley takes a liking to the family's daughter Amy. Council members pressure a conflicted Edward Seymour to countersign Thomas's death warrant, and Thomas is beheaded. Fed up with Seymour's orders, John Dudley disobeys him by executing peasant traitors. On returning to court, he seizes power as the new Lord Protector. | ||||||
| 7 | "To Laugh, To Lie, To Flatter, To Face" | Catherine Morshead | Anya Reiss | July 31, 2022 (2022-07-31) | 0.100[9] | |
| Powerful Protestant marriages are proposed for both Elizabeth and Mary, and the court prepares for the arrival of the Danish prince for whom Elizabeth is intended. The new Lord Protector John Dudley proves himself to be both brutal and cunning. The Spanish ambassador attempts to convince Mary to flee to Spain. Elizabeth is confronted with Robert Dudley's romantic feelings. The young king Edward shows signs of illness. | ||||||
| 8 | "To Death We Must Stoop" | Catherine Morshead | Anya Reiss | August 7, 2022 (2022-08-07) | 0.140[10] | |
| Two months pass and Edward's illness worsens. Mary arrives at court; in anticipation of Edward's death, the council and the two princesses attempt to strip John Dudley of his power. Robert Dudley is revealed to have married Amy Robsart. The king's sudden recovery shocks the court, and the threat to Dudley's power is removed. Edward Seymour is imprisoned in the Tower of London, and subsequently beheaded. Edward is told by Dudley that both his sisters have been disloyal, and bans them from court. The king is reminded of another possible heir to the throne (his cousin Lady Jane Grey) as he vomits blood. | ||||||
In December 2019, it was announced Starz had greenlit an 8-episode series focusing on the younger years of Queen Elizabeth I created by Anya Reiss, who would also serve as an executive producer.[11] In October 2022 it was announced that Starz had cancelled the show and there would be no season 2 covering the reign of Mary I.[12]
In October 2020, Alicia von Rittberg joined the cast of the series.[13] In May 2021, Romola Garai, Jessica Raine, Tom Cullen, Bella Ramsey, Oliver Zetterström, John Heffernan, Jamie Blackley, Jacob Avery, Alexandra Gilbreath, Leo Bill, Ekow Quartey, Alex Macqueen and Oliver Huband joined the cast of the series.[14]
Principal photography began in December 2020.[15] In March 2021, production took place at Cardiff Castle.[16]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 16 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's consensus reads, "Angsty as a disgruntled teenager and all the better for it, Becoming Elizabeth finds fresh drama in the Tudors by shifting focus onto the royal court's web of spiders."[17] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 73 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18]
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