Queen & Slim star Jodie Turner-Smith becomes a real queen in the highly-awaited limited series Anne Boleyn, which just got its first trailer. Released on Channel 5’s Instagram account, the trailer presents us with Turner-Smith’s interpretation of the iconic Tudor queen during her last months of life before she was executed for treason.
The trailer opens with the titular queen declaring herself innocent from all charges, during a public trial. The next scenes show other central moments in Anne’s life, such as her miscarriage and a fight with King Henry VIII (Mark Stanley), who feels betrayed after his wife doesn’t give him a much-wanted son and heir. We also get a look at Anne’s love rival Jane Seymour (Lola Petticrew), who would become the third wife to Henry VIII, after the former queen was brutally beheaded.
Between each scene, the trailer asks the viewer who Anne really was by flashing big questions on the screen: “Dishonest or Devoted?”; “Traitor or Trailblazer?”; and “Sinner or Saint?” The trailer ends with Anne Boleyn’s slogan: “You may know the history, but you don’t know her story.”
Anne Boleyn promises to bring a feminist look to history by retelling the last months of the former queen’s life from her own perspective. Departing from the conventional historical drama language, the three-part limited series also intends to explore the trial and execution of Anne Boleyn as a psychological thriller. Anne Boleyn is written by Eve Hedderwick Turner and directed by Lynsey Miller, with historian Dan Jones executive producing. The series cast also includes Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You) as Anne’s brother and Tudor nobleman George Boleyn.
The trailer description on Instagram informs us that Anne Boleyn is coming to Channel 5 “later this month," but no final date has been announced so far. Check out the trailer below: