In a move that was no doubt inspired by Henry VII, Starz has decided to forego any battles among producers and named The White Princess the next program in its line of historical dramas set during the War Of The Roses. Variety reports that the pay-cable network has green-lit the the sequel series, which will pick up after the events of 2013’s The White Queen. The miniseries averaged five million American viewers, so Starz is eager to move forward with the sequel, citing the “dearth of programming that tells women’s stories,” and declaring that “we are confident The White Princess will become the next must-see fandom drama series.”
The White Queen starred Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation) as Elizabeth Woodville, the eponymous character and queen of England, whose daughter, Elizabeth Of York, would later help Henry VII found the Tudor dynasty and establish the line of succession. There were, of course, many of other players involved in The War Of The Roses, both in real life and onscreen, which the miniseries struggled to wrangle and invest in over the course of its run. But it sounds like The White Princess will narrow the scope a bit to focus on the marriage of Princess Elizabeth and Henry VII, a fraught union that was only responsible for smoothing over that whole civil war thing. Matters will be further complicated by the arrival of Richard Grey, Elizabeth’s brother and a man who would be king.
Elizabeth’s loyalty will be tested during the 8-episode limited series, which is already in pre-production and will air some time in 2017. The cast has not yet been announced, but The White Queen showrunner Emma Frost will resume her showrunning and executive-producing duties. (The X-Men reference isn’t lost on us either, especially considering Ferguson was once up for the role of Bella Donna Boudreaux in the Gambit movie.)