A Preview of ‘The Serpent Queen’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

One thing that we can all agree upon, is that we have a collective fascination with people that indulge in their darker side. Simply because, the vast majority of us, are bereft of cruelty or darker thoughts and a desire to act upon them. So, to know that there are people who do so, and that history is littered with people that had no qualms with it, truly does fascinate us. Because we simply have to know, what is it that brought forth these uglier tendencies and thoughts in their minds and of course… what motivated them to indulge in them. For to understand that, means we properly understand the human condition and all the good and bad that comes with it, and one easy way to learn in this manner, is through storytelling.

Because that allows for a perfect encapsulation of our curiosities to come to life, since we can watch or read a neatly contained story that answers every last one of our questions and it just so happens, that another opportunity to learn about a gruff individual from history is about to arrive on our television screens. For Sunday, September 11, 2022, will see the premiere of The Serpent Queen on STARZ. A show that revolves around the life and times of the infamous Queen Catherine de’ Medici, who ruthlessly ruled over France ages upon ages ago. And it is that ruthlessness and desire to achieve her goals at any cost that fascinates us to this day. Since she remains one of the toughest leaders in human history and we are curious as to what drove that fierceness, and well… it is how this story explores her motivations to commit to that, that makes it of note and worth previewing (in a spoiler-free manner) a few days before its release.

Simply because, it explores Catherine’s life in a supremely unique manner, by exploring her past and the tough moments she experienced in her youth, so we in turn can see how those moments formed the once and future queen and the lessons she would often draw upon in making powerful and brutal decisions. Which is an exploration that features moments that absolutely helped her to understand a need for survival and making the hard choices that no one else can and that… really does give us stunning perspective on her history and her life, and the controversial decisions she made, and most important of all, it entertains and engages. Simply because every moment we are privy to is handled in such a dynamic and slick manner that you forget you’re watching a period piece. You’re simply glued to your screen and unable to look away and of course, you have to know more about her and what she is going to do next and that’s also thanks in large part to the stellar casting present in the show.

For Samantha Morton, who plays the iconic Queen, is simply stunning in the role. Since she brings a certain subtlety and zest to Catherine that allows for the viewer to be curious and afraid of her all at once, and that is largely due to the fact, that Samantha relished the opportunity to bring this character to life and was honored to play her. In fact, here is what Samantha had to say about this role when asked about it by NTG at a recent roundtable press conference: “I think I feel very honored, I feel very privileged to go from, you know, from playing somebody that I love, like Alpha in The Walking Dead, that we have coming out with Tales of the Walking Dead. And then to get to play the queen of France, in the same year is joy. You know, it's like, really flexing those muscles. And I'm being given the opportunity to work with Justin and Erwin, who are the producers, showrunner, and writer/director. And likewise, with working on The Walking Dead, it's just like, you know… I don't know if anyone out there likes chocolate, but it's like eating the best chocolate. It's… it's really amazing.”

That joy certainly shows in her performance, and it is obvious that Samantha’s enthusiasm for this series inspired the rest of the cast as well. Since Liv Hill is just as dynamic as Catherine’s younger self and of course, you cannot go wrong with Charles Dance and Colm Meaney chewing up the scenery with joy in their eyes as well. But what matters most, is that it is obvious that this is a show created with passion, and it really wants to offer us an objective look at a controversial figure from history so we can make our own decisions about who she was and what her legacy should be. Which is what good storytelling about troublesome people in history should feature, and that’s a testament to Justin Haythe’s magnificent writing and well, the best news of all… is that we are days away from the premiere of this dynamic new series, and we here at NTG hope you give it a look, and check back with us over the next few days. Since we will of course be geeking out about the show via our weekly recaps, but to also check out our interviews with Actor Liv Hill, and Writer/Executive Producer Justin Haythe and Executive Producer Erwin Stoff as we continue our countdown to the series premiere of The Serpent Queen.

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