Starz announced today "The White Queen," adapted from Phillipa Gregory's best-selling novels based on England's War of the Roses (also known as The Cousins' War) will premiere on Starz in the U.S. on Saturday, August 10th at 9pm ET/PT, following the Friday night finale of the second season of "Magic City."
"The White Queen" novels and series are told from the perspective of the three fiercely determined women who laid claim to the English throne:
Elizabeth Woodville (The White Queen), Margaret Beaufort (The Red Queen) and Anne Neville (The Kingmaker's Daughter).
While the men fought and killed on the battlefield in their quest for power, these three women used whatever means possible to wage war on their enemies who stood in their way and threatened their claim.
In the
Starz original drama, the year is 1464, before the Tudor dynasty ruled England, and war has been ravaging throughout the country over who is the rightful king. It is a blood feud between two sides of the same family; The House of York and The House of Lancaster. The House of York's young heir Edward IV is crowned King of England with the help of his mentor and advisor, the master manipulator Lord Warwick, known at court as "The Kingmaker." When Edward falls in love with a beautiful Lancastrian commoner,
Elizabeth Woodville, Warwick's plan to control the throne comes crashing down. A violent, high-stakes struggle for the crown ensues between Elizabeth, her fiercest adversary, Lancastrian Margaret Beaufort and Anne Neville, a pawn in her father's power game.
"All are heroines in the real sense of the word," explains author Philippa Gregory. "They were courageous and determined and went through extraordinary danger, but they never abandoned their unwavering desire to return their family to power. They conquered the circumstances they were born into and made a life for themselves, which is a very modern and quite feminist theme. I think people are going to be surprised to see these remarkably powerful women when traditional history tells you female were simply relegated to be victims or wives or mothers."
"The White Queen" stars Rebecca Ferguson as
Elizabeth Woodville, Max Irons (The Host) as Edward IV, Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee
Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs) as Elizabeth's mother Jacquetta Woodville,
James Frain ("The Tudors") as The Kingmaker and
Amanda Hale ("The Crimson Petal and the White") as mother to Henry Tudor, Margaret Beaufort. The series also stars Faye Marsay as Anne Neville,
David Oakes as George, Duke of Clarence, Eleanor Tomlinson as Isabel Neville,
Aneurin Barnard as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Ben Lamb as Anthony Rivers and
Tom McKay as Jasper Tudor.
The ten-part limited series is a BBC co-production, adapted from The New York Times best-selling historical novel series "The Cousins' War" by Philippa Gregory. "The White Queen" is produced by Company Pictures and adapted by acclaimed writer Emma Frost. The series is directed by James Kent, Jamie Payne and Colin Teague with Gina Cronk serving as producer. Executive Producers include
John Griffin, George Faber, Charles Pattinson for Company Pictures, Philippa Gregory, Eurydice Gysel for Czar Television, Polly Hill for the BBC and
Colin Callender for Playground Entertainment on behalf of Starz.
Starz enjoys all U.S. and worldwide multiplatform distribution rights to "The White Queen" from ALL3Media International, with the exception of television rights in the UK, where the series will air on BBC One, and rights in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
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