White Queen, Starz’s epic ten-episode miniseries based the Phillippa Gregory novels, will premiere on August 9th at 9/8C. The event series – which stars, among others, Max Irons, James Frain and Janey McTeer – adapts the series of novels that are told from the point of view of three 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).
Follow the jump to check out the official press release.
STARZ TO PREMIERE “The White Queen” ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 10 AT 9PM et/pt
10 EPISODE LIMITED SERIES DRAMA based on THE INTERNATIONAL best-selling novels by philippa gregory
STARS MAX IRONS, REBECCA FERGUSON, JAMES FRAIN AND GOLDEN GLOBE® WINNER AND ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE JANET MCTEER
Beverly Hills, Calif. – May 23, 2012 – 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.
“The White Queen” Online
Website: http://www.starz.com/originals/TheWhiteQueen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thewhitequeen.starz
Twitter: @WQueen_Starz; join the conversation at: #TheWhiteQueen
About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.
Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. As of March 31, 2013, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 56.7 million subscribers, including 21.6 million at STARZ, and 35.1 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ® and ENCORE®, along with Starz Networks’ third network MOVIEPLEX®, air more than 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television. Starz Distribution’s home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties. Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide
About Company Pictures
Company Pictures is one of the UK’s largest independent film and television drama production companies. Television production highlights include: The Village (BBC1), Women In Love starring Rosamund Pike for BBC4, BBC2’s The Shadow Line, Elizabeth I (winner of three Golden Globes), 11 series of Shameless (Channel 4, BAFTA and RTS Awards), Skins – six series for E4, Martina Cole’s The Take and The Runaway (Sky One), Einstein and Eddington starring David Tennant (BBC1/ HBO), Inspector George Gently (BBC1), Generation Kill (HBO), The Devil’s Whore (Channel 4), Wild at Heart – seven series (ITV1) and the US version of Skins for MTV.
Other past Company Pictures productions include: The Lakes by Jimmy McGovern, A Young Person’s Guide to Being a Rock Star (RTS award Best Serial) for Channel 4 and Warner Bros, North Square (Channel 4: winner Best Series Press Guild), Not Only But Always (Channel 4: winner Best Series Press Guild, BAFTA Best Actor winner for Rhys Ifans), The Rotters’ Club (BBC), and The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (HBO: winner of two Golden Globe Awards for Best TV Movie, Best Actor for Geoffrey Rush and 15 Emmys). Company has made five feature films with some of the UK’s leading directing talent including films by Roger Michell, Stephen Hopkins, Penny Woolcock, Shane Meadows and Lynne Ramsay.
Among its numerous awards, Company Pictures won Best Independent Production Company at the 2005 and 2008 Broadcast Awards and the European Producers of the Year Award at the 2004 Monte Carlo Awards. Since October 2004 Company Pictures has been a part of the All3 Media group.
About All 3 Media
ALL3MEDIA is Britain’s largest independent television production company and comprises production companies from across the UK, US, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia. It also includes international distribution companies ‘ALL3MEDIA International’ and ‘Optomen International’. ALL3MEDIA International represents third-party producers and broadcasters together with its own production companies.
ALL3MEDIA is also the largest producer of broadcaster multiplatform content in the UK, producing award winning websites and online dramas such as Embarrassing Bodies (BAFTA), The Well (BANFF) and Britain From Above (EMMY).
About Playground
PLAYGROUND is a film, television and theater production company based in New York that was founded in 2011 by the award winning producer and executive Colin Callender.
Current productions include Stephen Poliakoff’s six part BBC mini-series DANCING ON THE EDGE starring John Goodman, the second season of MAGIC CITY which premieres on Starz on June 14, THE WHITE QUEEN a ten part series based on the novels by Philippa Gregory starring Janet McTeer, Rebecca Ferguson and Max which premieres on Starz on August 14 and the new NBC series DRACULA starring Jonathan Rhys Myers which premieres in September.
Playground is currently in pre-production on the recently announced FORTITUDE in with Starz and Sky in the UK and the six hour mini-series adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize winning WOLF HALL starring Mark Rylance for the BBC.
Playground’s theater division is currently producing Nora Ephron’s Broadway hit LUCKY GUY directed by George C. Wolfe starring Tom Hanks which was nominated for six Tony Awards including Best Play, Best Actor and Best Director, as well as Harvey Fierstein’s new play CASA VALENTINA.
Photo Credit: © 2013 Starz Entertainment, LLC.