Academy Award winner Julianne Moore leads Mary & George (M-Net Channel 101 from Wednesday, 16 April at 10pm), a historical romp that turns the prudish, prim & proper image of 17th-century English society on its head and demonstrates how the weaponisation of sex and seduction can alter an empire’s path.
Based on Benjamin Woolley’s novel, The King’s Assassin: The Fatal Affair of George Villiers and James I, Mary & George intricately details how the Countess of Buckingham (Moore), moulded her son George (Nicholas Galitzine, Red, White & Royal Blue) to seduce King James I (Tony Curran, Your Honour) and become his all-powerful lover, making her family richer, more titled and more influential than any other in England. The first three episodes of the series are directed by South African auteur Oliver Hermanus (The Endless River; Living) in ravishing style, in his first foray into television.
Having succeeded the childless Elizabeth I to become England’s first Scottish king, James I isolated himself within his court – and was open to being courted by those who shared his indulgences. Mary, Countess of Buckingham – having lost her fortune when her first husband died – spotted the opportunity to introduce her handsome and well-educated son, George, into the Royal Court as Royal Cup-Bearer in 1614. As the man responsible for serving and preserving the safety of the King’s drinks, he used his proximity to James to ingratiate himself into every facet of the ruler’s life, including his bedroom, his decisions on domestic and foreign policy and secured the title of Duke of Buckingham in the space of just under a decade.
Mary & George takes a raunchy, unabashed look at the excesses of the Jacobean era – a time when William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson rose to cultural prominence and a new version of the Bible was commissioned by the Monarch, known today as the widely-used King James version.
Salon.com Senior Critic Melanie McFarland said, “Mary & George may be shallow, but it’s also a lusty, wickedly fun gallop through history”, while Empire’s Sophie Butcher lauds Moore’s turn: “Moore is on great form here. She spits out profanities and ultimatums in a clipped, crisp accent, wearing a series of increasingly to-die-for costumes and never faltering in the face of those above her on the societal ladder”. Christina Escobar sums the series’ tone up perfectly for rogerebert.com: “Upon completion, Mary & George leaves a lingering sense of questions. Not about right or wrong but about how power works, the dangers of ego, and the nature of greed. In those aspects, the show is smart and provocative. Oh, and it shows a lot of butts too.”
Mary & George premieres on DStv Premium on M-Net (Channel 101) on Wednesday, 16 April at 10pm and will also be available on DStv Catch Up and DStv Stream. Visit the M-Net Website and join the conversation on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.