2008 Spring TV Preview: The Tudors

The Tudors - Season 2

Premieres: Sunday, March 30, at 9:00 p.m. EST

Network: Showtime

Creator(s): Michael Hirst

Starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Sam Neill, Jeremy Northam, Natalie Dormer

Website: Sho.com


The Tudors is a Showtime series that takes place during the reign of Henry VIII, in an age when politics, religion and tawdry romances were all mixed up. The story is loosely based on King Henry VIII of England as he deals with the trials of being king. In addition to dealing with the usual political struggles that come with the job, Henry also has to worry about producing a male heir.

Obviously, this is a period show and from the few bits and pieces I’ve seen of it, it looks like seduction, betrayal and beheadings are plentiful in this series. When the second season resumes, Henry will continue to try to get a divorce so that he and his mistress, Anne can be together.

I don’t have Showtime but having seen the promos for this series, which as I understand it, takes quite a few creative liberties with the story for entertainment purposes, looks good enough to cause me to strongly consider subscribing to the pay-cable network. Generally, I’m not a fan of period pieces but this series looks like it has enough drama going on with it to make up for the fancy dresses and snooty sounding vernacular.

Here’s a preview:

For the full 2008 Spring TV Premiere Schedule: CLICK HERE

Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.