ITV’s Director of Drama, Polly Hill, has commissioned six-part Tudor period drama, Majesty, which depicts the reimagined of the life of a young Elizabeth I and her place in the court of King Henry VIII, based on conspiracy theories which surrounded her as a young woman.
Created and written by former Grey’s Anatomy showrunners Joan Rater, Tony Phelan and William Harper, it will be directed by Mr Bates v the Post Office director James Strong and produced by Strong Film and Television.
Was the Virgin Queen hiding a profound secret? And how did this overlooked, embattled princess become the most powerful ruler England has ever known?
Majesty will be released on ITV1 and STV and streaming on ITVX and STV Player. Polly Hill will oversee production on behalf of the broadcaster.
James Strong’s most recent work is the ground- breaking, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which is ITV’s most successful drama in over a decade. He is also renowned for directing Broadchurch, Liar, Fire Country, The Suspect, Vigil and Vanity Fair.
Majesty is being produced by James Strong’s newly founded production company, Strong Film and Television, which James formed with fellow television executives Matt Tombs and Loretta Preece, and which is backed by leading producer- distributor StudioCanal.
Most recently, Rater, Phelan and Harper collaborated on the eight-episode NatGeo/Disney+ limited drama series, A Small Light. Rater and Phelan also co-created and currently serve as executive producers on CBS’ hit Friday night drama Fire Country, which is currently in production on its third season, and its spin-off drama Sheriff Country also for CBS and recently picked up to series for the 2025/26 broadcast season.
William Harper, Joan Rater and Tony Phelan said: “Majesty is an emotional, funny, and contemporary-feeling alternate history about how three outsiders try to stay alive while hiding a secret that, if discovered, would rock England to its foundations. Majesty allows us to have fun with history while illuminating who we are now. This show is pure wish-fulfilment of how people devoted to the public good suddenly find themselves in a position to make a difference.”
Polly Hill said: “I’m delighted to be announcing Majesty and to be working with James and his team on such an intriguing and thought-provoking story. Majesty is a perfect illustration of the range of drama that we want to see on ITV as we continue to strive to make the best and most ambitious mainstream drama for our UK audiences.”
James Strong added: “I could not be more thrilled to be bringing this audacious and original show to the screen. The brilliant scripts are a directors’ dream as we get to re-imagine and recreate an iconic piece of English history and tell a period story that looks stunning but also feels modern and relevant to todays’ viewer.”
Filming will commence in 2025 with casting revealed closer to the drama going into production.
STUDIOCANAL will be responsible for the international distribution of the drama.
Pippa Considine
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