Series synopsis
The Tudors is an American drama romance television series that premiered on Showtime on April 1, 2007. It ended on June 20, 2010. It was created by Michael Hirst. It stars David Alpay, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Perdita Weeks and Sam Neill.
The Tudors is a history-based drama series following the young, vibrant King Henry VIII, a competitive and lustful monarch who navigates the intrigues of the English court and the human heart with equal vigor and justifiable suspicion.
Premise
The Tudors is a history-based drama series following the young, vibrant King Henry VIII, a competitive and lustful monarch who navigates the intrigues of the English court and the human heart with equal vigor and justifiable suspicion.
Premise: It's Good to Be King.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- David Alpay as Mark Smeaton
- Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII of England
- Perdita Weeks as Mary Boleyn
- Sam Neill as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
- Callum Blue as Anthony Knivert
- Henry Cavill as Charles Brandon
- James Frain as Thomas Cromwell
- Henry Czerny as Duke of Norfolk
Supporting cast
- Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn
- Maria Doyle Kennedy as Catherine of Aragon
- Nick Dunning as Thomas Boleyn
- Jeremy Northam as Sir Thomas More
- Max Brown as Edward Seymour
- Annabelle Wallis as Jane Seymour
- Joss Stone as Anne of Cleves
- Steven Waddington as Duke of Buckingham
- Hans Matheson as Thomas Cranmer
- Peter O'Toole as Pope Paul III
- David O'Hara as Henry Howard
- Lothaire Bluteau as Ambassador Charles de Marillac
Guest cast
- Anthony Brophy as Ambassador Eustace Chapuys
- Jake Hathaway as Prince Edward Tudor
- Laoise Murray as Princess Elizabeth Tudor
- Simon Ward as Bishop Stephen Gardiner
- Eoin Murtagh as Prince Edward Tudor
- Emmanuel Leconte as Francis I of France
- John Kavanagh as Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio
- Jamie Thomas King as Sir Thomas Wyatt
- Bosco Hogan as John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester
- Joanne King as Jane Boleyn
- Colm Wilkinson as Lord Darcy
- Anatole Taubman as Jean Rombaud
Episodes
This series spans 4 seasons with 38 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 10 | April 1, 2007 | June 3, 2007 |
| Season 2 | 10 | March 30, 2008 | June 1, 2008 |
| Season 3 | 8 | April 5, 2009 | May 24, 2009 |
| Season 4 | 10 | April 11, 2010 | June 20, 2010 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
In Cold Blood Henry prepares for war with France but receives cautious counsel from the powerful Cardinal Wolsey, who urges a treaty; the king learns that his queen's lady-in-waiting Elizabeth Blount is pregnant with his child. |
April 1, 2007 |
| 2 |
Simply Henry Henry contemplates an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Spain despite his "Field of Cloth of Gold" ceremony celebrating allegiance to France, and executes a rival; Elizabeth gives birth to the king's illegitimate son. |
April 8, 2007 |
| 3 |
Wolsey, Wolsey, Wolsey! A visit from Charles V forces Henry to conceal his growing disaffection from Queen Katherine, who is the influential Spanish monarch's aunt - even as Henry comes face-to-face with the seductive Anne Boleyn for the first time. |
April 15, 2007 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Everything is Beautiful The King makes himself head of the Church of England while the Catholic Church fights a losing battle to control Henry VIII's desire for an annulment. Anne Boleyn demands that Henry break off contact with Katherine, so the noble Queen is banished from court. On top of that The Reformation is underway. |
March 30, 2008 |
| 2 |
Tears of Blood Christmas at the Tudor court is a time for ringing in the new. Mistress Anne Boleyn has replaced the banished Queen Katherine. The King's chaplain, Thomas Cranmer, makes a fact-finding visit to Lutheran Germany while Henry withdraws both the authority and taxes of the Catholic Church at home. And a royal visit to France finally convinces Anne to consummate her relationship with Henry, even as his best friend Charles Brandon suggests that she is no virgin. |
April 6, 2008 |
| 3 |
Checkmate Henry's patience finally wears out and he marries Anne in secret, appoints his Lutheran chaplain Thomas Cranmer the head of the Church of England, and strips Queen Katherine of her title and status; the king and new queen have their first child, and are disappointed that it's a girl...whom they christen Elizabeth. |
April 13, 2008 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Civil Unrest King Henry marries for the third time, taking as his queen the demure noblewoman Jane Seymour. A growing number of his subjects protest the king's decision to abandon the Catholic Church. |
April 5, 2009 |
| 2 |
The Northern Uprising The uproar over the king's break with the Catholic Church turns into a full-blown rebellion that comes to be known as "The Pilgrimage of Grace." Immobilized by an old jousting injury, Henry sends Charles Brandon to deal with the uprising and focuses his attention on the Lady Ursula Misseldon. |
April 12, 2009 |
| 3 |
Dissention and Punishment Henry reconciles with his estranged daughters Mary and Elizabeth in time for the Christmas holidays, but betrays and brutally suppresses the rebellion against him after making conciliatory promises to the uprising's leaders. |
April 19, 2009 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Moment of Nostalgia A long hot summer, thirty years into the reign of King Henry VIII, and well into middle age, Henry takes his fifth wife, Katherine Howard. The Queen's "low background" combined with her youth and beauty, arouses a lusty familiarity in certain members of King Henry's court most notably his handsome young servant Thomas Culpepper. |
April 11, 2010 |
| 2 |
Sister Thomas Culpepper - Henry VIII’s newest servant - continues to make eyes at his King’s young bride, Katherine Howard. Her servant suggests seduction. While the King shows his age by going to bed early during the Christmas celebration the young but not so innocent members of his court party on. |
April 18, 2010 |
| 3 |
Something For You Buoyed by the happiness that a young wife brings an aging man, Henry is noticeably more tolerant and forgiving than he once was. Such goodwill is well appreciated by the peasants of the North who gratefully accept Henry’s forgiveness for the Pilgrimage of Grace revolt, during a Royal visit. But the King’s benevolence may yet be tested by his new Queen: Katherine Howard has submitted to seduction by the young and handsome Thomas Culpepper. |
April 25, 2010 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | Showtime |
|---|---|
| First aired | April 1, 2007 |
| Last aired | June 20, 2010 |
| Runtime | 55 minutes |
| Status | Ended |
| Schedule | Sunday at 21:00:00 |