The Serpent Queen

Plot

The series follows the story of Catherine de' Medici, who marries into the French Valois court as a fourteen year-old teenager expected to bring in a fortune in dowry and produce heirs. Despite many challenges, a lifetime of clever political maneuvering allows her to rule France as queen for 30 years.

Cast and characters

Main

Samantha Morton as Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France

Liv Hill (season 1) as the younger Catherine, Duchess (Duchessina) of Urbino

Amrita Acharia as Aabis, a Romani woman who is part of young Catherine's entourage

Ruby Bentall as Angelica, daughter of a famed perfumier who accompanies Catherine to France

Barry Atsma (season 1) and Alexandre Willaume (season 2) as Montmorency, a member of King Francis's privy council and later the Constable General of France

Enzo Cilenti as Cosimo Ruggeri, an Italian fortune teller brought to France by Catherine

Sennia Nanua (season 1) and Emma McDonald (season 2) as Rahima, Catherine's new maid who rises to a powerful position in the court

Kiruna Stamell as Mathilde (season 1), Catherine's dwarf maid

Nicholas Burns as Antoine de Bourbon, elder son of Charles de Bourbon

Beth Goddard as Antoinette de Guise, Claude's wife, the mother of Francois and Charles, and the grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots

Raza Jaffrey as Francois, Duc de Guise, elder son of Claude de Guise

Danny Kirrane as Louis de Bourbon, Antoine's younger brother

Ray Panthaki as Charles, Cardinal de Guise, the Duc de Guise's younger brother

Recurring

Ludivine Sagnier as Diane de Poitiers, Henri's older mistress (season 1; guest season 2)

Paul Chahidi as Charles de Bourbon (season 1), another member of the privy council

Navid Negahban as Claude, Duke de Guise (season 1), the third member of the privy council

Naomi Battrick as Anne d'Etampes (season 1), one of Francis I's mistresses

Colm Meaney as Francis I (season 1)

Rebecca Gethings as Queen Eleanor (season 1)

Gemma Dobson as Nathalie (season 1), a kitchen servant

Antonia Clarke as Mary, Queen of Scots (season 1; guest season 2)

Steve Furst as Dr. Fernel

Lee Ingleby as Henri II (season 1)

Alex Heath portrays the younger Henri, the Duke of Orleans and second son of King Francis, who marries Catherine

George Jaques as Francis II (season 1), Catherine and Henri II's eldest son

Jean-Stan Du Pac (season 1) and Mikaël Mittelstadt (season 2) as Matisse, a boy who becomes Sebastio's apprentice and befriends Aabis, who later becomes like a son to her

Jade Croot (season 1) and Isobel Jesper Jones (season 2) as Edith, a Huguenot girl protected by Montmorency who becomes a preacher

Laura Marcus as Elisabeth (season 2), Catherine and Henri II's oldest daughter

Guest

Louis Landau as Dauphin François (season 1), King Francis's firstborn son

Charles Dance as Pope Clement VII (season 1)

Adam Garcia as Sebastio (season 1), young Catherine's atelier

Memet Ali Alabora as Sultan Suleiman (season 1)

Anna Cottis as Cook (season 1)

David Denman as Pierre Marques (season 1)

Katie Haigh Mayet as Geraldine Marques (season 1), Pierre's wife

Rupert Everett as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Nicolas Robin as Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery (season 1)

James Gerard as Tancrede, the servant of Louis de Bourbon

Robin Greer as Thomas (season 2), the secret boyfriend of Francois, Duc de Guise

Minnie Driver as Elizabeth I (season 2), Queen of England

Alex Price as Lord Throckmorton (season 2), Elizabeth's councilor

Ashley Thomas as Alessandro de Medici (season 2), Catherine's illegitimate half brother and Duke of Florence

Paulo dos Santos as Prince Philip (season 2), the son of the Holy Roman Emperor

Lilea Le Borgne as Sisi of Austria (season 2), Charles's love interest

Episodes

Production

Development

In February 2021, Starz granted an eight episode series based upon the book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda, with Justin Haythe set to serve as a writer and executive producer, with Francis Lawrence and Erwin Stoff also set to executive produce. Stacie Passon will direct multiple episodes of the series, including the pilot. Production companies involved in the series were slated to consist of Lionsgate Television and 3 Arts Entertainment. Starz renewed the series for a second season on October 27, 2022. Lorris Chevalier is the historical advisor.

On October 9, 2024, the series was canceled after two seasons.

Casting

In April 2021, Samantha Morton joined the cast as Catherine de' Medici. In May 2021, Amrita Acharia, Enzo Cilenti, Barry Atsma, Nicholas Burns and Danny Kirrane joined the cast in starring roles, while Charles Dance, Ludivine Sagnier, Liv Hill, Kiruna Stamell, and Colm Meaney in recurring capacity. In June 2021, Ray Panthaki joined the cast of the series. In August 2021, it was announced Raza Jaffrey, Sennia Nanua, Beth Goddard and Alex Heath had joined the cast of the series, in undisclosed, starring and recurring capacities, respectively.

New cast members for season two were announced in March 2024, including Minnie Driver in the recurring role of Queen Elizabeth I, Emma McDonald as a recast Rahima, as well as series regulars Angus Imrie, Stanley Morgan and Philippine Velge. Also recurring will be Bill Milner, Ashley Thomas, Rosalie Craig, Isobel Jesper Jones and Alexandre Willaume.

Filming

Principal photography of the first season began in April 2021 in Marseille and in the Loire Valley in France and in the Papal Palace in Italy.

Release

The Serpent Queen premiered on Starz on September 11, 2022.

The second season premiered on July 12, 2024.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's consensus reads, "The Serpent Queen dramatizes one of history's most infamous monarchs with a deft, sardonic touch, with Samantha Morton's commanding star turn likely to swallow viewers' attention whole." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 76 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".