Is this the raunchiest royal drama yet? Critics are wowed by Julianne Moore’s bonkbuster Mary & George about 17th Century Countess who groomed her son to seduce King James I – complete with a ménage-a-six, full frontal nudity and lesbian affairs

By James On Mar 6, 2024

Critics are impressed by one of the raunchiest royal dramas to date: about a 17th-century countess who molded her son to seduce King James I.

Sky’s Mary & George, which aired this week, is inspired by the scandalous true story of Mary Villiers (Julianne Moore), who taught her beautiful and charismatic son, George (Nicholas Galitzine), to become King James VI of Scotland and I of England. seduce (Tony Curran) and become his all-powerful lover.

Through extravagant scheming, the couple rose from humble beginnings to become the wealthiest, most prominent and influential players the English court had ever seen, and the king’s most trusted advisors.

Fans have praised the raunchy bonk-buster for its mix of “costume, plotting and sex,” while critics called it “ridiculous fun” and a “royal romp of sex and scheming.”

The show also looks at early 18th century England, and its place on the world stage, threatened by a Spanish invasion and rioters taking to the streets to denounce the king.

Critics are in awe of one of the raunchiest royal dramas yet – about a 17th century countess who molds her son to seduce King James I (pictured by Nicholas Galitzine and Tony Curran in the show)

The show also looks at early 18th century England, and its place on the world stage, threatened by a Spanish invasion and rioters taking to the streets to denounce the king.

Willing to stop at nothing and armed with her ruthless political steel, Mary married her way up the ranks, bribed politicians, colluded with criminals and clawed her way into the heart of the establishment, making it her own.

And the daring historical psychodrama about a treacherous mother and son who plotted, seduced and murdered to conquer the court of England and the king’s bedside became an instant hit.

The guard praised it as “magnificent” and drew attention to: “plum poisonings, lesbian affairs, murders, orgies – and a family so monstrous they make the Borgias look like the Waltons”

In a five-star review, they added: ‘Moore is brilliant – cold, smart and always bubbly – and seems to be having the time of her life.’

The times gave the show four stars and compared the film to 2018’s The Favorite, which featured “colorful swearing, moments of off-center humor and go-go romps”.

“The more sexually fluid the better,” the reviewer wrote.

‘Here, the candlelit links are explicitly ‘bums-out’ (and everything else ‘off’), while looking like a work of art. In episode three, a generously gay menage-a-six (or ‘concert of the flesh’) seems as if a previously censored Caravaggio painting had come to life’.

The daring historical psychodrama about a treacherous mother and son who plotted, seduced and murdered to conquer the court of England and the king’s bed, became an instant hit.

Critics are impressed with Galitzine’s performance and appearance

The series is written by DC Moore (Killing Eve, Temple), inspired by the non-fiction book The King’s Assassin by Benjamin Woolley.

The bawdy, lavish 17th century costume drama Mary & George (Sky Atlantic) follows the boy as he rises to claim a dukedom

Mary & George is produced by Hera Pictures in association with Sky Studios and will air on Sky Atlantic and NOW on March 5.

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY

THE GUARDIAN: ‘The stakes increase with each episode as the family climbs the social and legal ladder and the whole thing remains fantastic. Propulsive but grounded. Plotty but never messy. Exuberant and opulent without becoming banal.’

Judgement:

THE TIMES: ‘All this is backed up by some great performances: Moore is fiercely steely, but not without vulnerabilities, while Tony Curran as James I struts around with a cup of wine in hand (“so stupid, it’s like a curse”)’

Judgement:

THE IRISH TIMES: ‘The atmosphere in Mary & George is that of an arthouse Renaissance romp with the safety catch off. In that respect, it’s part of a micro-environment of candle-powered capers that includes Olivia Colman’s Oscar-winning The Favorite and the gruesome St. Petersburg drama The Great, which takes a supposedly comic look at the conquests of Catherine The Great.

THE TELEGRAPH: ‘A look at the reign of James I is welcome – apart from the Gunpowder Plot, this is not a period in history that gets too much attention – but much of what happens is pure guesswork. A stylish drama, but with little substance’

Judgement:

THE DAILY MAIL: ‘The next scenes become a soft-porn coming-of-age fantasy, with fencing competitions, dancing lessons and stable boys, until it’s almost Fifty Shades Of Bridgerton. But the story picks up when George returns to England and gets a job waiting on the king at banquets.”

Judgement:

THE I: “It’s a dazzling story, sensationally told and gleefully led by Julianne Moore as Mary, a self-made social climber whose ruthless ambition is born from the knowledge that being a woman in early 17th century England was a rotten fate.”

Judgement:

THE INDEPENDENT: ‘There’s a lot of skin showing, and a lot of thrusting – from both hips and opinions. A few years ago this would have felt like a radical way of dealing with period drama, evoking its filth and tawdry with an edge and vulgarity of language. But this kind of iconoclasm no longer feels fresh, because The Great – a foul-mouthed and bawdy show about Catherine, Empress of Russia, written by The Favorite writer Tony McNamara – has already lived and died on our TV schedules.”

Judgement:

Mary is described as a “mother from hell and social climber extraordinaire.”

Society bible Tatler also compared the show to the Favourite.

“Based on episode one, it’s a perfect gender-swapped version of that particular story. As an exploration of the use of sexuality as power within the realms of the British nobility, Mary & George is quick and deliciously dry,” they wrote.

In the meantime, The Irish Times called it ‘dimly lit, misanthropic and hung with exposed flesh’.

‘There is no arguing about the quantity: there is a bottomless supply of bonking and backstabbing’.

The Telegraph said George, played by Nicholas Galitzine, looked like he had ‘stepped straight off a catwalk’

Mary is described as a ‘mother from hell and an extraordinary social climber’

Tony Curran as King James VI of Scotland and I of England, center

“You’re not looking at his acting, you’re just staring at his cheekbones.” They wrote.

The Daily Mail wrote: ‘This bawdy, exuberant, 17th-century costume drama Mary & George (Sky Atlantic) follows the boy as he rises to claim a dukedom, as second sons sometimes do. Serials from this era follow two patterns: the literary or the salacious, Wolf Hall or The Tudors.

“This definitely falls into the latter camp and if you like raunchy, salacious and sweary history, it’s a lot of fun.”

Mary & George is produced by Hera Pictures in association with Sky Studios and is now streaming on Sky Atlantic and NOW.

The series is written by DC Moore (Killing Eve, Temple), inspired by the non-fiction book The King’s Assassin by Benjamin Woolley.