Leonie Frieda: Last News

Selena Kuznikov Starz has revealed the trailer for Season 2 of “The Serpent Queen,” starring Samantha Morton. Featuring eight episodes, the second season of the historical drama series will return to the platform July 12. Based on the book “Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France” by Leonie Frieda, the series details the life of the titular Queen Catherine (Morton), one of the longest-serving rulers in French history.

Starz has renewed The Serpent Queen for an eight-episode second season ahead of the drama’s freshman finale airing on Sunday.

Caroline Framke Chief TV Critic If you were to see the trailer or basically any promotional material for “The Serpent Queen,” Starz’s new series about the infamous life of one Catherine de Medici, you’d be forgiven for assuming it’s a showcase for Samantha Morton in a historical drama with modern touches, following in the footsteps of her recent turn in “Harlots.” Even its arresting opening credits sequence, which sees Morton stride to a throne to a heavy guitar lick as snakes slither out and toward her, suggests a show preoccupied with being Edgy and Different — a show that would consider itself to be not like Starz’s many other historical drama girls, as it were.   However: as adapted from Leonie Frieda’s biography by Justin Haythe, this perception proves to be only somewhat the case. In fact, the first few episodes of “The Serpent Queen” — which premieres Sunday, Sept. 11 — feature Morton sparingly, with an elder Catherine telling the story of how she came to France as a teenager (played by Liv Hill) to a spirited maid (Sennia Nanua), in whom she sees a kindred spirit. In truth, Morton should only barely be considered the show’s lead until the fourth episode, which moves Catherine’s flashbacks far enough forward in time that she can safely assume the role in both the past and present, as she begins to square off against her formidable daughter-in-law, Mary Queen of Scots (Antonia Clarke).