Historical Series “The White Princess” Produced by Company Pictures Takes Court at Starz
Starz Greenlights New Original Limited Series “The White Princess”
Adapted from Philippa Gregory’s Historical Novel
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Starz announced today the company has greenlit “The White Princess,” the
follow-up to the critically-acclaimed STARZ Original Miniseries event
“The White Queen,” from Company Pictures. Adapted from Philippa
Gregory’s best-selling novel of the same name and part of The
Cousins’ War book series, “The White Princess” tells the story of
England’s War of the Roses from the perspective of the women. The
8-episode limited series drama is currently in pre-production.
Acclaimed writer Emma Frost (“The White Queen,” “The Man in the High
Castle,” “Shameless”) returns to serve as Showrunner and Executive
Producer with Gregory serving as Executive Producer for “The White
Princess.”
Lachlan MacKinnon (“Burton and Taylor”) will serve as Producer for the
series. Playground’s Colin Callender (“The White Queen,” “The Dresser,”
“The Missing,” “Wolf Hall”) will serve as Executive Producer with
Company Pictures’ Michele Buck (“Parades End,” “Sex Traffic,”
“Hornblower”).
“The White Princess” concludes the story of England’s War of the Roses
and charts the rise of the House of Tudor through the tortuous marriage
between Princess Elizabeth of York and King Henry Tudor. The year is
1485 and Princess Elizabeth, daughter of “The White Queen,” has been
pledged in marriage to the newly anointed King Henry Tudor in hopes that
it will bring peace to a war torn country. England is united, but their
marriage is soon divided, as rumors circulate that Elizabeth’s long-lost
brother Prince Richard is alive and planning to take the throne. Now she
must choose between Tudor wife and York princess, between her new
husband and the boy who claims to be her own blood and the true heir to
the crown.
“’The White Queen’ was a phenomenal performer at Starz, averaging 4.8
million multiplatform viewers per episode in the United States*,” said
Carmi Zlotnik, Managing Director for Starz. “There is a dearth of
programming that tells women’s stories and ‘The White Queen’ was
embraced with great success by audiences worldwide. The passionate
fanbase for Philippa Gregory’s historical novels are undeniable and we
are confident ‘The White Princess’ will become the next must-see fandom
drama series.”
“The White Queen” was the first STARZ Original series to attract more
women than men viewers with women making up 55 percent of the
viewership. “The White Queen” also consistently ranked in the Top 10
cable shows for each premiere night**.
“The White Queen” received a 2014 Golden Globe® nomination
for Best TV Movie or Mini-Series with Rebecca Ferguson and Janet McTeer
each receiving Golden Globe® nominations in the Best Actress
in a TV Movie or Miniseries category and the Best Supporting Actress in
a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie category, respectively.
“The White Queen” also received several Emmy® nominations in
2014 for Outstanding Mini Series; Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries,
Movie or a Special; Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Movie;
and Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
(Original Dramatic Score).
About “The White Princess”
The year is 1485 and Henry Tudor is king, having snatched the crown from
Richard III in a surprise victory at the Battle of Bosworth. Elizabeth
of York, “The White Princess,” is faced with marrying Henry, the man who
has just killed her lover. While Elizabeth’s mother Dowager Queen
Elizabeth, “The White Queen,” encourages her to marry to preserve the
York claim of title and ensure her family’s safety, Henry’s mother
Margaret Beaufort detests the idea, but knows it is the only way for her
son to stay on the throne and unify a country divided by war.
In the court of Burgundy, the Duchess rules over a new enemy stronghold
for disenfranchised Yorkists and all of Henry Tudor’s enemies. It is
from here that a Pretender is mustering an army. He claims to be brother
to the Queen, and the true heir to the throne. But is he the missing
prince from the tower sent by his mother, the White Queen? Or a
counterfeit prince – a low-born enemy to Henry Tudor and his York
princess wife?
Princess Elizabeth must choose between Tudor wife and York princess –
between her new husband and baby son, and the boy who claims to be her
beloved lost brother. Has the rose of York come home at last and at what
cost to her?
“The White Princess” tells the story of one of the most fascinating
periods of British history, spanning the winter court of Henry Tudor –
uniquely from the women’s point of view. The most ruthless players in
history will stop at nothing to support their own causes and those of
the ones they love.
“The White Princess” will film on location in Bristol, UK and will air
on STARZ in 2017. Starz will retain all network pay TV and SVOD rights
to the project.
* Source: Based on STARZ internal estimates of linear and
time-shifted results from Nielsen (NPower), Rentrak (On Demand
Essentials) and internal broadband data. Subject to further
qualifications available upon request.
** Source: Nielsen NPower, Live +SD demo projections (000s) for the
season and Live +3 Coverage Household ratings on premiere days 8/9/13
-10/25/13.
About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and
entertainment company with operating units that provide premium
subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels
(Starz Networks) and global content distribution (Starz Distribution), www.starz.com.
Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video
programming through the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® pay
TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to
U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators,
satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. As of
September 30, 2015, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 55.8 million
subscribers, including 23.3 million at STARZ, and 32.5 million at
ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the
U.S. STARZ® and ENCORE®, along
with Starz Networks’ third network MOVIEPLEX®, air
more than 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented
by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through STARZ PLAY,
ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces
and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers
globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television. Starz
Distribution’s home video, digital media and worldwide distribution
business units distribute original programming content produced
by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties.
About Playground
Playground is a New York and London based film, television and theatre
company that was founded in 2012 by Emmy and Tony award winning producer
Colin Callender. It is committed to producing quality drama for the
screen and the stage bringing together the finest US and UK talent from
the worlds of theatre, film, and television. Callender won his first
Emmy for the television adaptation of the RSC’s “The Life and Adventures
of Nicholas Nickleby” and, as president of HBO Films, was responsible
for an unprecedented award-winning slate of movies and mini-series.
Playground has produced over 50 hours of prime time television drama
garnering 13 Emmy nominations and 11 Golden Globe nominations, including
a Golden Globe win for Best Miniseries. Recent productions include the
Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe winning six-part miniseries adaptation
of Hilary Mantel’s “Wolf Hall” starring Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis,
Claire Foy and Jonathan Pryce for the BBC and Masterpiece, the
television adaptation of Ronald Harwood’s “The Dresser” starring Ian
McKellen and Anthony Hopkins and directed by Richard Eyre for the BBC
and Starz, Golden Globe nominated “The Missing” an eight part
thriller with Charlie Pattinson’s New Pictures for the BBC and Starz,
Emmy and Golden Globe nominated “The White Queen” for BBC and Starz, and
Golden Globe nominated “Dancing on the Edge” also for BBC and Starz.
Upcoming productions include Stephen Poliakoff’s post-WWII miniseries
“Close To The Enemy” with Helen Flint’s Little Island Production and a
miniseries adaptation of “Howards End” written by Ken Lonergan for the
BBC.
On the theatre front, Playground’s recent productions include Jez
Butterworth’s The River starring Hugh Jackman on Broadway, Nora
Ephron’s Tony-nominated Lucky Guy starring Tom Hanks in his
Broadway debut, Tony-nominated Casa Valentina from Harvey
Fierstein, the Tony Award-winning musical revival of Hedwig and the
Angry Inch starring Neil Patrick Harris; and the critically
acclaimed production of Macbeth at The Park Avenue Armory
starring Kenneth Branagh. Playground, alongside Sonia Friedman
Productions and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions is currently
producing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, based on an original
new story by JK Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, that will receive
its world premiere in London’s West End in the summer of 2016.
About Company Pictures
Company Pictures is one of the UK’s largest independent film and
television producers.
Founded in 1998, we have produced hundreds of hours of critically
acclaimed, award winning drama.
Company has produced major drama series for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4,
Sky, WGBH, HBO, Starz and other leading broadcasters all over the world.
Company was responsible for period drama Elizabeth (winner of three
Golden Globes), eleven series of the multi award winning Shameless, the
much loved long running family series Wild at Heart and the hugely
popular teen drama Skins.
Recently, Company produced a big budget six part adaptation for the BBC
of Hilary Mantel’s prize winning “Wolf Hall” (recent winner of a Golden
Globe®), written by Peter Straughan (Tinker Tailor Soldier
Spy), directed by BAFTA nominated Peter Kosminsky and starring Mark
Rylance and Damian Lewis.
From seminal drama “The Lakes” in the 1990s to “The White
Queen,” “Inspector George Gently” and “The Village” today, Company
Pictures continues to produce and deliver high quality, distinguished
drama that attracts the best talent the UK has to offer.
Since October 2004 Company has been part of All3Media.
About All3Media
All3Media is a leading independent television, film and digital
production and distribution companies. The All3Media group is comprised
of 21 production and distribution companies from across the UK, Europe,
New Zealand and USA including Apollo20, Bentley Productions, Company
Pictures, IDTV, John Stanley Productions, Lime Pictures, Lion
Television, Little Dot Studios, Maverick Television, MME Moviement, Neal
Street Productions, New Pictures, North One Television, Objective
Productions, Optomen, One Potato Two Potato, Seven Stories, South
Pacific Pictures, Studio Lambert, All3Media America and All3Media
International. All3Media is owned jointly between Discovery
Communications and Liberty Global.
Contacts
Starz
Theano Apostolou, 424-204-4052
theano@starz.com
or
Alana
McGaughey, 212-905-4212
alana.mcgaughey@Starz.com
or
Michelle
Portillo, 720-852-4063
michelle.portillo@starz.com
