Starz continues to lead the way in historical TV dramas with their new series The Serpent Queen. The series, created by Justin Haythe, was adapted from Leonie Frieda's 2004 nonfiction novel Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France. The Serpent Queen premiered on September 11, 2022, and stars Samantha Morton, Liv Hill, Ludivine Sagnier, and Sennia Nanua.
The Serpent Queen follows the life of Catherine de Medici, who was Queen of France in the mid-1500s. The series is narrated by Catherine (Samantha Morton) as she tells the story of her life to her new maid, Rahima (Sennia Nanua). Catherine starts the story when Catherine moves to France at 14 years old to the death of her husband, Henry II, and in the process dramatizes history.
Who is The Serpent Queen?
Catherine de Medici was born in 1519 to the famous de Medici family of Italy. Through her mother, Madeleine de La Tour d’Auvergne, Catherine was related to the Bourbons of France and other families of the French nobility. Catherine was orphaned only a few months after her birth and was sent to live with members of the de Medici family, where Italian nuns educated her. In 1533, Catherine’s uncle Pope Clement VII promised her to King Francis I of France’s second son, Henry. Catherine was sent to France and married Henry on October 28, 1533.
Catherine became Queen of France in 1547 and went on to have 10 children which included three kings, two queens, two dukes, and a duchess. Catherine died in 1589 outliving all of her children but one (Queen Margaret of France). Although Catherine is mostly unliked (due to her regency during the French Wars of Religion), she is considered one of the most important women in Europe during the 16th century due to the fact that it is unlikely her three sons would have been able to keep the throne without her.
Fact vs Fiction of The Serpent Queen
The new Starz drama is bold and wickedly fun, but is it an accurate telling of Catherine de Medici? Although there are a lot of historical inaccuracies in the series (for the sake of the story), for the most part, it is a pretty good telling of the queen’s life. Catherine was very smart, ruthless, and manipulative in her attempt to keep control of France. This is part of how she became known as The Serpent Queen, and Samantha Morton does an incredible job of capturing that essence.
Catherine was noted to be a very pious woman, so it is highly unlikely that she dabbled in witchcraft. But like others of her time (Elizabeth I of England) she was very interested in alchemy and astrology. Catherine did consult with magicians and tried folk remedies to try and get pregnant which might have been the source of this rumor. Over the centuries, Catherine has also become notorious for being a poisoner, but there is no proof of this account, although it is said that she did have an interest in herbs.
One of The Serpent Queen's most accurate portrayals is that of Henry II’s royal mistress, Diane de Poitiers, and her relationship with the royal couple. Diane was 19 years older than Henry and their affair started about a year after his marriage to Catherine. Diane did push Henry to visit Catherine more because she knew the importance of having heirs. Although after the birth of twins, Victorie and Joan, Catherine was warned not to have any more children and Henry stopped visiting her. Catherine struggled to find her place with Diane at court and from all accounts, it appears she did love Henry.
A Satirical Drama Works Best
There have been some wickedly vicious satires in movies and television and The Serpent Queen is fitting right in with them. Samantha Morton and Liv Hill (who plays Young Catherine) are both fantastic at balancing the seriousness and the sharp wit of the character.
Catherine’s life was filled with tragedy, and if told straight it would make for a pretty depressing series. So Justin Haythe’s decision to use satire brings the story to another level and gives it the ability to reach a wider audience. When discussing The Serpent Queen, Town & Country quoted Haythe saying:
"I liked the idea of a villain from history who would address us and say 'Let me you tell why I did the things I did, and you'll judge me differently’. You have to really wonder if this is an evil person with shards of good, or it’s a good person who’s capable of evil to survive."
With the first season of The Serpent Queen only covering the first half of Catherine’s life it will be interesting to see where the series will go. Fans can be excited as the series has been renewed for season two but there has been no word on when that will premiere. The entire first season of The Serpent Queen is now available on Starz.