The Serpent Queen

The Serpent Queen is an American historical drama television series about the life of Catherine de' Medici, the 16th century Queen of France, as portrayed by actress Samantha Morton. The series was created by Justin Haythe and is based on the 2004 nonfiction book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda. The Serpent Queen premiered on Starz on September 11, 2022. In October 2022, Starz renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on 12 July 2024.

Plot
The series follows the story of Catherine de' Medici, who marries into the French Valois court as a fourteen year-old teenager expected to bring in a fortune in dowry and produce heirs. Despite many challenges, a lifetime of clever political maneuvering allows her to rule France as queen for 30 years.

Main

 * Samantha Morton as Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France
 * Liv Hill (season 1) as the younger Catherine, Duchess (Duchessina) of Urbino
 * Amrita Acharia as Aabis, a Romani woman who is part of young Catherine's entourage
 * Barry Atsma (season 1) and Alexandre Willaume (season 2) as Montmorency, a member of King Francis's privy council and later the Constable General of France
 * Enzo Cilenti as Cosimo Ruggeri, an Italian fortune teller brought to France by Catherine
 * Sennia Nanua (season 1) and Emma McDonald (season 2) as Rahima, Catherine's new maid who rises to a powerful position in the court
 * Kiruna Stamell as Mathilde (season 1), Catherine's dwarf maid
 * Nicholas Burns as Antoine de Bourbon, elder son of Charles de Bourbon
 * Beth Goddard as Antoinette de Guise, Claude's wife and the mother of Francois and Charles
 * Raza Jaffrey as Francois, Duc de Guise, elder son of Claude de Guise
 * Danny Kirrane as Louis de Bourbon, Antoine's younger brother
 * Ray Panthaki as Charles, Cardinal de Guise, the Duc de Guise's younger brother
 * Angus Imrie as Henry IV (season 2), the son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d’Albret
 * Stanley Morgan as Anjou (season 2), Catherine's son and the younger brother of Charles IX
 * Philippine Velge as Margot (season 2), Catherine's eldest daughter

Recurring

 * Ludivine Sagnier as Diane de Poitiers (season 1), Henri's older mistress
 * Paul Chahidi as Charles de Bourbon (season 1), another member of the privy council
 * Navid Negahban as Claude, Duke de Guise (season 1), the third member of the privy council
 * Ruby Bentall as Angelica (season 1), daughter of a famed perfumier who accompanies Catherine to France
 * Naomi Battrick as Anne d'Etampes (season 1), one of Francis I's mistresses
 * Colm Meaney as Francis I (season 1)
 * Rebecca Gethings as Queen Eleanor (season 1)
 * Gemma Dobson as Nathalie (season 1), a kitchen servant
 * Antonia Clarke as Mary, Queen of Scots (season 1)
 * Steve Furst as Dr. Fernel (season 1)
 * Lee Ingleby as Henri II (season 1)
 * Alex Heath portrays the younger Henri, the Duke of Orleans and second son of King Francis, who marries Catherine
 * George Jaques as Francis II (season 1), Catherine's eldest son by Henri
 * Jean-Stan Du Pac (season 1) and Mikaël Mittelstadt (season 2) as Matisse, a boy who becomes Sebastio's apprentice and befriends Aabis
 * Jade Croot (season 1) and Isobel Jesper Jones (season 2) as Edith, a Protestant girl protected by Montmorency who becomes a preacher
 * Bill Milner as Charles IX (season 2), Catherine's second son by Henri, and the King of France
 * Jordan Bigot and Yngve Sanchez Beuthe portray the younger Charles in season 1

Guest

 * Louis Landau as Dauphin François (season 1), King Francis's firstborn son
 * Charles Dance as Pope Clement VII (season 1)
 * Adam Garcia as Sebastio (season 1), young Catherine's atelier
 * Memet Ali Alabora as Sultan Suleiman (season 1)
 * Anna Cottis as Cook (season 1)
 * David Denman as Pierre Marques (season 1)
 * Katie Haigh Mayet as Geraldine Marques (season 1), Pierre's wife
 * Rupert Everett as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (season 1)
 * Nicolas Robin as Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery (season 1)
 * Laura Marcus as Elisabeth (season 2), Catherine's younger daughter
 * Scott Folan as Hercule (season 2), Catherine's younger son
 * Rosalie Craig as Jeanne d'Albret (season 2), the queen of Navarre, wife of Antoine and mother of Henry IV
 * James Gerard as Tancrede
 * Minnie Driver as Elizabeth I (season 2), Queen of England
 * Ashley Thomas as Alessandro de Medici (season 2)
 * Lilea Le Borgne as Sisi of Austria (season 2), Charles's love interest

Development
In February 2021, Starz granted an eight episode series based upon the book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda, with Justin Haythe set to serve as a writer and executive producer, with Francis Lawrence and Erwin Stoff also set to executive produce. Stacie Passon will direct multiple episodes of the series, including the pilot. Production companies involved in the series were slated to consist of Lionsgate Television and 3 Arts Entertainment. Starz renewed the series for a second season on October 27, 2022. Lorris Chevalier is the historical advisor.

Casting
In April 2021, Samantha Morton joined the cast as Catherine de' Medici. In May 2021, Amrita Acharia, Enzo Cilenti, Barry Atsma, Nicholas Burns and Danny Kirrane joined the cast in starring roles, while Charles Dance, Ludivine Sagnier, Liv Hill, Kiruna Stamell, and Colm Meaney in recurring capacity. In June 2021, Ray Panthaki joined the cast of the series. In August 2021, it was announced Raza Jaffrey, Sennia Nanua, Beth Goddard and Alex Heath had joined the cast of the series, in undisclosed, starring and recurring capacities, respectively.

New cast members for season two were announced in March 2024, including Minnie Driver in the recurring role of Queen Elizabeth I, Emma McDonald as a recast Rahima, as well as series regulars Angus Imrie, Stanley Morgan and Philippine Velge. Also recurring will be Bill Milner, Ashley Thomas, Rosalie Craig, Isobel Jesper Jones and Alexandre Willaume.

Filming
Principal photography of the first season began in April 2021 in Marseille and in the Loire Valley in France and in the Papal Palace in Italy.

Release
The Serpent Queen premiered on Starz on September 11, 2022.

The second season premiered on July 12, 2024.

Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's consensus reads, "The Serpent Queen dramatizes one of history's most infamous monarchs with a deft, sardonic touch, with Samantha Morton's commanding star turn likely to swallow viewers' attention whole." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 76 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".