Queen Elizabeth I has entered the court. Minnie Driver makes her first appearance as the self-possessed Tudor royal in the third episode (July 26) of Starz’s sharp historical drama The Serpent Queen. In this second season, she’ll make her way to the French territory of the snaky ruler Catherine de Medici (played by Samantha Morton) with a proposal that could make them both more powerful. The two will meet in an unmissable battle of wit and strategy spanning Episodes 6 and 7 (August 16 and 23), a match-up these compelling actresses welcome.
“Stories often don’t expand to accommodate more than one really strong, interesting female character,” says Driver (watch the video above for the full interview). “But we’re seeing it’s changing, whether it’s Big Little Lies or Slow Horses or this extraordinary television with these robust female characters. This is a concentrated moment of two titans from history with two actresses from — I mean, I’m a bit older — roughly the same generation, both British, both really interested in what muscular acting looks like. Not phoning it in. Not just showing up, but really throwing everything that you’ve got.”
Throwing everything into it is exactly the style of these two queens. Both royals bring their A-game to a negotiation that involves the people Catherine loves the most in the world. So, which ruler has the advantage?
“When I was performing it, all I could think of was this sense of business. It’s business,” Morton says. “The one thing that ultimately Elizabeth does have, if I’m thinking about it now, is royal blood. Catherine is a commoner. Elizabeth has an advantage over Catherine because she belongs in the space and Catherine has to claim her space and has had to within her court.”
Don’t miss the build-up or the battle when these two women go crown-to-crown. Watch the video above to hear more from the actresses on their characters, working together, and a possible future project.
The Serpent Queen, Fridays, 8/7c, Starz
