My Lady Jane is a smooth and funny historical series that does not take itself or history so seriously. When you think of the Tudor era, you think of Henry VIII's many wives, feuding over successions to the throne, and beheaded nobles. A story where all this came together is the story of Jane Grey. She was a cousin to King Edward VI and after his death in 1553 she became Queen of England. However, nine days later she was deposed and charged with high treason. Ultimately, her head also ended up on the chopping block.
But what if it had all turned out slightly differently? My Lady Jane is set in an alternate England where magic exists. The great conflict is not between Catholics and Protestants, but between people who can turn themselves into animals and people who cannot.
In this series, we see how the young adult Jane (Emily Bader (Charmed (2018)) is married off to the nobleman Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel, Killing Eve). Jane's cousin, King Edward VI (Jordan Peters, Everything I Know About Love), is seriously ill, and his half-sisters prey on the throne. Jane becomes a plaything of the great powers around her.
My Lady Jane is sassy and doesn't take herself too seriously
Already in the first few minutes it becomes clear that you should not take My Lady Jane too seriously. The series itself doesn't do that either. A voice-over regularly provides the series with sharp and sarcastic commentary, and the various characters also participate in this with great pleasure. Certain things are also historically incorrect, but the series pays little attention to that. On the contrary, sometimes the makers seem to deliberately go against it. It gives the series a cheeky edge.
This is also reflected in the atmosphere of the series. Jane is free-spirited and rebellious, and absolutely does not want to marry just any man her mother has chosen for her. In addition, the series is very colorful in decoration, fairly explicit in terms of sex scenes, and makes extensive use of modern music. It may be a bit too similar to other recent historical series such as Bridgerton, Dickinson and The Great, but it works. The series will therefore not be for everyone, but if you enjoyed something like Bridgerton, this will also appeal to you.
Bader and Bluemel are fun, but the supporting characters are even more fun
Bader and Bluemel are both doing well and are a nice couple. However, I liked the supporting roles even more. For example, I really enjoyed Anna Chancellor (Spooks) as Jane's mother, Rob Brydon (Gavin & Stacey) as Guildford's father and Dominic Cooper (Agent Carter) as the sneaky right-hand man of Edward's half-sister Mary (Kate O'Flynn, No Offence). These actors have wonderful comic timing and know how to handle the sometimes absurd material they are presented with.
If you're looking for a historical drama that retells history as accurately as possible, you'd better stay away from My Lady Jane. If you are looking for a light-hearted romantic story full of beautiful images and an edge of fantasy, then this is recommended. The ending leaves plenty of room for a possible sequel. I sincerely hope that this will happen.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
