The White Queen Starts a War of Roses on Starz

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Starz has picked up a dense and confusing 10-episode drama series based on Philippa Gregory’s The Cousins War trilogy: The White Queen, The Red Queen and The Kingmaker’s Daughter. The new series, which will be called The White Queen, is being executive produced by former HBO Films president Colin Callender, thanks to a two year deal with his company, Playground. Part of the deal will see him as executive producer on Magic City’s second season. Callender will be working once again with former HBO boss Chris Albrecht, now the CEO of Starz, and Carmi Zlotnik. Company Pictures will produce the series. If you want to know details about the plot of the series, well… you may want to get a notepad.

As reported by Deadline, The White Queen takes place in England in 1464, centered on the War of the Roses. The war breaks out between the House of York and the House of Lancaster, whose symbols are the white and red roses respectively, over who should be the rightful King of England. Edward IV (Max Irons) is the current king, thanks to the help of Lord Warwick “The Kingmaker” (James Frain). However, Edward falls in love and secretly marries a widow and commoner, Elizabeth Woodville (Rebecca Gerguson), effectively ruining Warwick’s plan to control the throne. Elizabeth’s mother, Jacquette (Janet McTeer), helps her daughter become queen, while also claiming to be a sorceress. Margaret Beaufort (Amanda Hale) is Elizabeth’s rival who would give her life to see her son, Henry Tudor, as king. Anne Neville (Faye Marsay) is Warwick’s daughter and a pawn in his plans, but she takes control of her own life and marries the king’s younger brother Richard Duke of York (Aneurin Bernard). Sound complicated enough?

Other cast members – and there are a lot of them – include David Oakes (as George Duke of Clarence), Juliet Aubrey (Countess of Warwick), Eleanor Tomlinson (Isabel Neville), Frances Tomelty (Lady Beauchamp), Michael Maloney (Henry Stafford), Ben Lamb (Anthony Rivers), Hugh Mitchell (Richard Welles), Simon Ginty (John Rivers), Eve Ponsenby (Mary Woodville) and Robert Pugh (Baron Rivers).