ITV Commissions Period Drama, Majesty, Set In The Court of King Henry VIII, Created And Written By Former Grey’s Anatomy Showrunners Joan Rater, Tony Phelan and William Harper, Directed by James Strong and Produced by Strong Film and Television

ITV Commissions Period Drama, Majesty, Set In The Court of King Henry VIII, Created And Written By Former Grey’s Anatomy Showrunners Joan Rater, Tony Phelan and William Harper, Directed by James Strong and Produced by Strong Film and Television

ITV’s Director of Drama, Polly Hill, has commissioned Tudor period drama, Majesty, which depicts the life of a young Elizabeth I and her place in the court of King Henry VIII.

Far from being an historical account of Elizabeth’s early years, Majesty, is a bold, intriguing reimagining of her life based upon conspiracy theories which surrounded her as a youth.

Was the Virgin Queen hiding a profound secret? And how did this overlooked, embattled princess become the most powerful ruler England has ever known?

Created by former Grey’s Anatomy showrunners Joan Rater, Tony Phelan and William Harper, Majesty has been commissioned for transmission on ITV1 and STV and streaming on ITVX and STV Player. Polly Hill will oversee production on behalf of the broadcaster.

Majesty is being produced by James Strong’s newly founded production company, Strong Film and Television, which James formed with fellow television executives Matt Tombs and Loretta Preece, and which is backed by leading producer-distributor STUDIOCANAL.

Most recently, Rater, Phelan and Harper collaborated on the eight-episode NatGeo/Disney+ limited drama series, A Small Light for which they won the Humanitas Prize in Limited Series; the
Gotham Award for Best Breakthrough Series; and the Television Academy Honours for a drama series.

Rater and Phelan also co-created and currently serve as executive producers on CBS’ hit Friday night drama Fire Country, which is currently in production on its third season, and its spin-off drama Sheriff Country also for CBS and recently picked up to series for the 2025/26 broadcast season.

Commented William Harper, Joan Rater and Tony Phelan:  

"Majesty is an emotional, funny, and contemporary-feeling alternate history about how three outsiders try to stay alive while hiding a secret that, if discovered, would rock England to its foundations. Majesty allows us to have fun with history while illuminating who we are now. This show is pure wish-fulfilment of how people devoted to the public good suddenly find themselves in a position to make a difference.”

The six-part series will be directed by International Emmy and multi- BAFTA award-winning Director James Strong whose most recent work is the ground-breaking, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which is ITV’s most successful drama in over a decade.  James is also renowned for directing internationally successfully drama, Broadchurch, Liar, Fire Country, The Suspect, Vigil and Vanity Fair.

Commented Polly Hill:  

“I’m delighted to be announcing Majesty and to be working with James and his team on such an intriguing and thought-provoking story. Majesty is a perfect illustration of the range of drama that we want to see on ITV as we continue to strive to make the best and most ambitious mainstream drama for our UK audiences.”

Commented James Strong:

“I could not be more thrilled to be bringing this audacious and original show to the screen. The brilliant scripts are a directors’ dream as we get to re-imagine and recreate an iconic piece of English history and tell a period story that looks stunning  but also feels modern and relevant to todays’ viewer.”

Filming will commence in 2025 with casting revealed closer to the drama going into production.

STUDIOCANAL will be responsible for the international distribution of the drama.

Photography:

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The team at Strong TV and Film, Matt Tombs, James Strong and Loretta Preece;

The writers William Harper, Joan Rater and Tony Phelan.