Medici,  Movies

Starz casts actress to play Catherine de Medici in new series

The new Starz historical drama has finally found their lead, casting a Swiss actress to play Catherine de Medici. Morton has experience in the era, having played Mary Queen of Scots previously.


The upcoming series is titled The Serpent Queen, which I initially assumed meant it was based on Jean Plaidy trilogy about Catherine. It’s instead based on Leonie Frieda’s 2004 biography of Catherine, Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France. Hopefully, with a biography as a basis, they’ll get some facts right about Catherine. Fingers crossed.

Clay, Alfred Barron; Charles IX and the French Court on the Morning of Saint Bartholomew’s Massacre; Walker Art Gallery


Edited to Add: Based on the later castings, I’m going to go with a “No” in the historical accuracy. Oh well. I also keep reading the word “cunning,” so we probably won’t get that much of a nuanced portrayal of Catherine after all. Every new character description that follows a casting makes me worry even more.

The series is expected to run for eight episodes. When I get more information about airing dates, I’ll add them to the post.

Maybe the costumes will be nice???