My Lady Jane, TV Series Review

The Prime series was released on 27th June 2024 and it has already created a whirlwind of excitement that made it onto my TikTok For You page, tempting me to watch it, and I can say it did not disappoint. I have tried my hardest not to spoil anything for you all. 

Cover Image for 'My Lady Jane'

Set in Tudor England and very loosely following the true story of Lady Jane Grey, I was intrigued by how the storyline would play out and how much history they would bend to fit into the action-packed, raunchy series. 

‘Ethians’ in the show (people who can transform into animals) are disfavorable, and the ‘Verity’ are non-transforming humans who are trying to abolish all Ethians by hunting and killing them. Now, of course, Ethians aren’t real, but their purpose is to show the divide that was real during Tudor times, and that was between Protestants and Catholics. 

People need to know that if you're planning on watching this for the history lesson, it will not be a very accurate retelling. It is not a period drama but is set in Tudor times. It does have a few links here and there, but this story is based on a fictional book by Cynthia Hand. 

Now, for all the fanfic, romance novel girlies out there, this love story will interest you. There are multiple tropes in just one relationship, and that is the one between Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guilford Dudley. The lust turned hatred turned loving turned longing, ugh! It’s honestly close to topping Mr. Darcy's hand flex in the 2005 ‘Pride and Prejudice', and that is saying something. The complexity is something that has lacked in recent period dramas, but it did remind me of Kate Sharma and Anthony Bridgerton in season two of Bridgerton. That back and forth of I hate you to I might love you? But I really shouldn't. And I think a lot of people have taken to it, as my TikTok is full of Lord Dudley and Lady Jane edits (as it should be). 

Lord Guilford Dudley and Lady Jane Grey

One thing that I feel a lot of TV series and films try to do now is tick boxes of inclusivity, but I will strongly say that the gay storylines did not feel forced at all, they felt natural and fit in really nicely with the characters, giving me a lot of moments of genuine happiness as their story developed. Making King Edward a gay black man is historically inaccurate, but so what? 

The modern music is something I knew I’d enjoy. There’s something about hearing classics play in the background of a Tudor time series that really gets me going. ‘Glory Box’ by Portishead and ‘Wet Dream’ by Wet Leg are an unexpected combo to see in the official playlist, but it works, and the timing of the songs making their way through our speakers is even better. 

Another thing I appreciated was the character's storylines evolving throughout the series and not just Lady Jane's. All of the characters were well thought out and it was refreshing to see some redemption arcs but also nice to see the less favourable characters not change their ways.

Surprisingly, I didn’t mind the narrator. I get slightly annoyed when they have to narrate every detail, but this guy didn’t do that. He pops up here and there, offers a comedic anecdote, and leaves us be. The narrator helps with the progression of the storyline rather than telling us the obvious, which is refreshing. 

Overall, this is one of the best series I’ve watched in a while. It was binge-able and incredibly enjoyable; maybe that has something to do with the mostly female writing team, but who knows? It was entertaining and made me want to watch the next episode before it had even finished, which is difficult for my short attention span.

Fingers crossed for season two!