The series that gives history the middle finger

“We are all born into certain roles. Our destiny is predetermined,” explains a character in an early episode of My Lady JanePrime Video’s new take on an old story of historical upheaval, palace intrigue and social evolution. It’s the kind of thing that’s always said in stories like this, where women are pawns in the man’s game of thrones, dominated and married and banished and executed to suit the whims of those in power, condemned to the life of subservience ordained for them by birth. What the rest of My Lady Jane The most important question is: what if this hadn’t happened? And also: what if some people could magically turn into animals?

The series is based on the books by the trio of authors Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows, whose series, which begins with the 2016 novel of the same name, reimagines the life of Lady Jane Grey, the noblewoman who ascended to the English throne after the deaths of her uncle King Henry VIII and her young cousin King Edward VI. Edward VI had led the Protestant Reformation of the Church of England, and since she was a Protestant, he knew Jane would continue his work after his death. In reality, Queen Jane reigned for a total of nine days before she was executed as a heretic and her half-sister Mary (a Catholic) was made queen instead. “Screw that,” quips the series’ narrator in the opening episode. “What if history had turned out differently?”

Jonathan Prime/Amazon Prime

My Lady Janethe show, exists in a reality different from our own, populated by a similar aristocratic nobility that dominates society and an underclass of magical shapeshifters called “Ethians” who, in a crude metaphor of racism/homophobia/apartheid, are persecuted by the government when their ability is discovered. Think Evil through Carnival series. Jane Grey (Emily Bader, sharp and imperious), botany enthusiast and relative of the ailing king, is none of these people; her problems are simpler. Her tyrannical mother, Lady Frances (a fearsome Anna Chancellor), is hell-bent on marrying her off to ensure her family’s livelihood after the death of Jane’s father. Jane’s reluctant marriage to Lord Guildford Dudley (a voluptuous Edward Bluemel), son of the scheming Lord Dudley (Rob Brydon with a small pearl earring), inadvertently leads her down a path of deadly secrets and palace intrigue when she uncovers a plot to assassinate the king.

My Lady Jane feels like a spiritual brother of shows like Dickinson And The is amazingwhich creates a new narrative based on bare historical facts, with a mischievous, modern tone that shakes off the shackles of reality. The Lady Jane is (maybe) not doomed to failure because The world there are animal people, and We viewers have a much more nuanced view of the place of women in society. The events of the show are shrewdly observed by a slightly irritating narrator who inserts plot context where necessary (and often where not) and mutters “Oh, shit” when something bad is about to happen. In the introduction to the first episode, he quotes the mantra from the Broadway musical Six: “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.” Each episode features riot grrrl covers of male-fronted rock songs like the Beatles’ “Come Together” and Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” and the characters regularly forgo “thees” and “thous” in favor of contemporary slang like “fuck that.”

Jonathan Prime/Amazon Prime

Still, the show plays by the rules when it comes to vague historical outlines. Jane marries Guildford Dudley, the country is rocked by the death of King Edward, and Jane eventually faces off against Bloody Mary Tudor (portrayed in a garish caricature by Kate O’Flynn). The sets and costumes are opulent and detailed, faithful reproductions of how people looked at the time, with white face powder and high collars and all. The cinematography has a soft-focus sheen that highlights the glittering jewels on a royal crown and the flickering flames of a funeral pyre. But that’s where the similarities end, and the fantasy elements take over.

It’s one thing to do a “Yas Queen”-style alternate history that prioritizes female empowerment (the very modern social media version of that) over historical accuracy. It’s another thing entirely, however, to ask audiences to accept that in that alternate history, the main political question is whether or not people who can turn into animals should be executed as witches. The Ethian subplot seems to take the place of the Catholic-Protestant conflict that existed at the time—there are no real references to religion in the series at all—but aside from a few “So-and-so was an animal all along!” twists, its potential is rarely fully realized.

Ultimately, My Lady Jane is a strange thing, somewhere between the swords and the magic of game of Thrones and the historical drama of The TudorsPart of the current wave of historical comedies, but with elements that place it in a more serious fantasy world. It’s fun for the type of viewer who likes their historical fiction laced with a little magic, and the instant chemistry between the two leads is enough to hold the attention of even those who might be skeptical of the fantastical parts. For those who are tired of 1:1 history shows, My Lady Jane invites you to expect the unexpected.