Starz(NEW YORK) — Bow down to TV’s latest royal drama. The White Princess, an eight-part miniseries about the union between Elizabeth of York and King Henry VII, debuts tonight on Starz.
The show stars Jodie Comer as the titular princess, known as Lizzie, who’s forced into a tumultuous marriage with King Henry VII, played by Australian newcomer Jacob Collins-Levy. Henry may rule England but the women rule the show. The series even has an all-female writing staff, something Collins-Levy says helps make the show unique.
“You’re going to see a historical story told by the perspective of 50 percent of the population that haven’t been explored in historical drama at this stage,” he tells ABC Radio, adding, “It is a feminist costume drama.”
Comer agrees, calling her role as the self-assured monarch “empowering.”
“In history women are kind of misrepresented and I feel like the women are a huge part in their husband’s success,” Comer says. “I feel like they’re expected to take a back seat and the men do all the work…So it was exciting for these women to be kind of leading the show.”
If that’s not enough to make you watch, the show has more than one Game of Thrones connection. It’s set in the same historical time period that inspired George R.R. Martin’s Games of Thrones book series. And Michelle Fairley, who played Catelyn Stark on Game of Thrones, plays the king’s manipulative mother, Lady Margaret.
“I think it will offer something that Game of Thrones fans will enjoy,” Collins-Levy says. “But I think it’s entirely its own show as well.”
The White Princess premieres tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT and is available for same-day streaming and download on the Starz app.
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