STARZ has just released a new trailer for their upcoming series The Serpent Queen, giving us our first look at the royal historical drama with a sharper edge than most. The series follows the life of Catherine de Medici, one of the most influential women in history, who clawed her way to the top as one of the most powerful rulers in French history. The series will premiere on STARZ on September 11, at 8:00 p.m. ET, and afterward, it will be available to stream on the STARZ app and the STARZPLAY app for international audiences

The new trailer, released today, gives us a look at Samantha Morton's Serpent Queen behind the series' name. Following the life of Catherine de Medici in a fourth-wall-breaking biographical format, the trailer shows us, the outstanding and despicable life of the woman who would come to be known as The Serpent Queen. Using a modern soundtrack for the trailer sets an exciting and very punk tone for the historical drama.

In the series premiere, aptly titled “Medici Bitch,” we will follow Catherine through flashbacks as she recounts her life thus far to her new servant Rahima (Sennia Nanua). Her story begins at 14 when the orphaned Catherine marries into the inhospitable 16th-century French court. The marriage is, especially for the time, quite unusual, as Catherine is technically a commoner. However, thanks to her uncle, Pope Clement (Charles Dance), she will become royalty. However, Catherine's dreams of marriage based on love are dashed when she discovers that her new husband is unfaithful. As all of Catherine's naive hopes are dashed, she will have to learn to survive through her own cunning and cruelty.

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Image via Entertainment Weekly

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No stranger to historical dramas, Morton plays the elder Catherine de Medici, and Liv Hill plays her younger self. The series also stars Colm Meaney, Kiruna Stamell, Barry Atsma, Alex Heath, Amrita Acharia, Enzo Cilenti, Antonia Clarke, Adam Garcia, Beth Goddard, Raza Jaffrey, Ray Panthaki, Nicholas Burns, Danny Kirrane, and Rupert Everett.

The Serpent Queen is based on the book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda. The series comes from writer and executive producer Justin Haythe, who has previously worked on such projects as Revolutionary Road, Red Sparrow, and The Lone Ranger. The series consists of eight episodes. It is produced for STARZ by Lionsgate Television and 3 Arts Entertainment.

The Serpent Queen premieres on September 11. Until then, you can catch the new trailer for the series below.