Creators William Harper, Joan Rater and Tony Phelan
ITV has ordered new Tudor period drama ‘Majesty‘, based on the life of a young Elizabeth I and her place in the court of King Henry VIII, from three former ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ showrunners.
Created by former ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ showrunners Joan Rater, Tony Phelan and William Harper, this new drama is far from being a straight historical account of Elizabeth’s early years. ‘Majesty’ is a bold, intriguing “reimagining” of her life based upon conspiracy theories which surrounded her as a youth. Was the Virgin Queen hiding a profound secret? And how did this overlooked, embattled princess become the most powerful ruler England has ever known?
“Majesty is an emotional, funny, and contemporary-feeling alternate history about how three outsiders try to stay alive while hiding a secret that, if discovered, would rock England to its foundations,” commented Harper, Rater and Phelan. “Majesty allows us to have fun with history while illuminating who we are now. This show is pure wish-fulfilment of how people devoted to the public good suddenly find themselves in a position to make a difference.”
The six-part series will be directed by International Emmy and multi-BAFTA award-winning Director James Strong whose most recent work was the ground-breaking ‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’, which is ITV’s most successful drama in over a decade. James is also renowned for directing internationally successful dramas, ‘Broadchurch’, ‘Liar’, ‘Fire Country’, ‘The Suspect’, ‘Vigil’ and ‘Vanity Fair’.
“I could not be more thrilled to be bringing this audacious and original show to the screen,” said Strong. “The brilliant scripts are a directors’ dream as we get to re-imagine and recreate an iconic piece of English history and tell a period story that looks stunning but also feels modern and relevant to todays’ viewer.”
Most recently, Rater, Phelan and Harper collaborated on the eight-episode NatGeo/Disney+ limited drama series, ‘A Small Light’ for which they won the Humanitas Prize in Limited Series; the Gotham Award for Best Breakthrough Series; and the Television Academy Honours for a drama series.
Rater and Phelan also co-created and currently serve as executive producers (alongside lead Max Thieriot) on CBS’ hit Friday night drama ‘Fire Country’, which is currently in production on its third season, and its spin-off drama ‘Sheriff Country’ also for CBS and recently picked up to series for the 2025/26 broadcast season.
“I’m delighted to be announcing Majesty and to be working with James and his team on such an intriguing and thought-provoking story,” adds Polly Hill, who commissioned the series and will oversee production on behalf of ITV. “Majesty is a perfect illustration of the range of drama that we want to see on ITV as we continue to strive to make the best and most ambitious mainstream drama for our UK audiences.”
‘Majesty‘ does not yet have a premiere date but will air on ITV1 & ITVX in the UK. If you want to keep track of this or any of the shows, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when the next season gets a UK premiere date.
