Mary & George

Mary & George is a British historical drama television miniseries created by D. C. Moore. It is based on Benjamin Woolley's non-fiction book The King's Assassin (2017) about the affair between James VI and I and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. Directed by Oliver Hermanus, Alex Winckler and Florian Cossen, the miniseries was released on Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom on 5 March 2024 and premiered on Starz on 5 April in the United States. It received positive reviews from critics.

Main

 * Julianne Moore as Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham
 * Nicholas Galitzine as George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
 * Tony Curran as James VI and I
 * Laurie Davidson as Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset
 * Sean Gilder as Sir Thomas Compton
 * Mark O'Halloran as Francis Bacon
 * Pearl Chanda as Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset
 * Trine Dyrholm as Queen Anne
 * Simon Russell Beale as George Villiers
 * Niamh Algar as Sandie Brookes
 * Adrian Rawlins as Edward Coke
 * Samuel Blenkin as Charles I of England
 * Amelia Gething as Frances Coke, Viscountess Purbeck
 * Nicola Walker as Elizabeth Hatton
 * Kate Fleetwood as Cunning Mary
 * Mirren Mack as Katherine Villiers, Duchess of Buckingham
 * Unax Ugalde as Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, Count of Gondomar
 * Joseph Mawle as Sir Walter Raleigh

Recurring

 * Jacob McCarthy as Christopher Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey
 * Tom Victor as John Villiers, 1st Viscount Purbeck
 * Alice Grant as Susan Feilding, Countess of Denbigh
 * Rina Mahoney as Laura Ashcattle
 * Emily Fairn as Jenny
 * Lydia Fleming as Anne Turner
 * Angus Wright as Sir David Graham

Guest

 * Ankur Bahl as Xander, Mary's bookkeeper
 * Khalil Gharbia as Jean, George's tutor in France
 * Dimitri Gripari as Vincent, Jean's assistant
 * David Weiss as Christian IV of Denmark, the brother-in-law of James I
 * Ryan Oliva as Arthur Wearstrap, Graham's henchman
 * Matt Barkley as Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
 * Dylan Brady as Peter Carr, Somerset's cousin
 * Jamie Michie as Captain Harrison, a captain under Raleigh's command
 * Simon Winkler as Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland
 * Cat Simmons as Cassie, a captive freed together with Sandie
 * Aine Mcnamara as the Spanish Infanta
 * Alex Brendemühl as Olivares, the Spanish Chief negotiator
 * Robert Lonsdale as John Felton

Production
The seven-part limited series is created by D. C. Moore, and Oliver Hermanus serves as lead director. Moore and Hermanus serve as executive producers alongside Liza Marshall for Hera Pictures and Sam Hoyle for Sky Studios.

In October 2022, it was announced Julianne Moore would lead Mary & George as Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham. Nicholas Galitzine joined the cast in January 2023 as Mary's son George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. Additional castings were announced in March 2023.

Principal photography was underway in England as of January 2023, slated to begin in London. It was reported Knole in Kent would be shut in late January and early February for filming. From 22 to 26 May 2023, shooting was based at Ham House in Richmond, which doubled as a London palace. Cast and crew were spotted at Old Hunstanton Beach in Norfolk in early June.

Release
The series was presented at the MIPCOM in Cannes. NBCUniversal Global Distribution is handling international distribution on behalf of Sky. The series premiered on Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom. Sky also aired the series in Ireland, Germany and Italy. Starz released the series in the United States and Canada. AMC Networks was previously set to air the series in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India but ultimately dropped it. Foxtel picked up the series for broadcast/streaming in Australia, available from 6 March 2024.

In May 2023, first look still images of Mary & George were published in Vogue magazine. At the Edinburgh Television Festival that August, Meghan Lyvers, Director of Original Drama at Sky Studios, stated Mary & George was expected to be released "in the coming year".

The initial trailer was released on 16 November 2023.

On 1 February 2024, the official trailer was released and it was announced that Mary & George would premiere on 5 March 2024 on Sky Atlantic.

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 47 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critics' consensus states: "Bawdy, irreverent, and ruled by Julianne Moore in top form, Mary & George is a regal treat for fans of frothy court intrigue." This was seconded by The Guardian's Joel Golby, who gave the miniseries a full five stars, describing it as "a wickedly lewd delight" that is "fresh and new and interesting". On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Anita Singh in The Daily Telegraph, on the other hand, gave it only three stars out of five, saying Mary & George "takes the facts and runs riot with them" in "a stylish drama, but with little substance". Ed Power in The Irish Times was more scathing, describing it as "an art-house renaissance romp with the safety-catch off", and "dimly lit, misanthropic and wallpapered in bared flesh". The historian Mark Turnbull, writing for the magazine of the Historical Writers' Association, concurred in complaining of the "inaccuracies, exaggerations, and highly significant bouts of pure fiction" in a series claiming to be based on fact.