There’s good news and bad news for fans of The Tudors TV series. Showtime has announced that they’re renewing it for a fourth season but it will be the historically-based show’s last.
The Tudors is a fictional version of the reign of the King of England during the 1500’s, King Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). Other historical players include Henry Cavill, Natalie Dormer, Nick Dunning, James Frain, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Padraic Delaney, Jeremy Northam, Jamie Thomas King, Anthony Brophy, Guy Carleton, John Kavanagh, Sam Neill, Callum Blue, Henry Czerny, Hans Matheson, David Alpay, Joe Van Moyland, Bosco Hogan, James Gilbert, Alan Van Sprang, and Peter O’Toole.
When the show debuted on April 1, 2007 to 870,000 viewers, it was reportedly Showtime’s best premiere in three years. The series has held onto those numbers pretty well, attracting 726,000 for its third season premiere last week. The series has also been well-reviewed but it is an expensive epic to produce.
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The first two seasons totaled 20 episodes while season three will have only eight. Series creator and executive producer Michael Hirst explained to reporters in January that the reason was “The collapse of the dollar.” At the time, Hirst said that he and the other producers were hoping to be able to make the fourth season a full 10 episode season and apparently they’ve been successful.
The fourth and final season of Tudors will revolve around Henry’s final descent into madness as well as his tumultuous relationships with his last two wives, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. Production is expected to begin in June in Dublin, Ireland but viewers of the period drama will have to wait until Spring 2010 to see them.
Robert Greenblatt, Showtime’s President of Entertainment, said, “I’m thrilled to complete the saga of Henry VIII as reconceived by Michael Hirst. He and Jonathan Rhys Meyers have breathed new life into the costume drama by making it both modern in sensibility but also faithful to history. I think we proved that even after 500 years this is a great story.”
By the end of the series’ run, Hirst will have single-handedly written all 38 episodes. Though the events of Henry’s life are part of the history books, it’ll be interesting to see how Hirst, with his unique take on the saga, brings it to a close.
Image courtesy Showtime.
The tudors is the best tv show that I have seen. The show is also educationel, We should have more tv shows,movies that are based on history then mostly fiction ones.
There is so much history even after Henry VIII. This series could have and should have gone on for years. I will sorely miss it and I still haven’t seen Season 1 yet. I wish Showtime would have a couple of weekends for all of the episodes from 1 to 28 to be shown. I have seen season 2 and will watch the finale of season 3 tonght. It sure would be nice if Showtime would reconsider.
The story line of the tudors when Henry VIII died at whitehall palace in January 28, 1547 thats when his 10 year old son, Edward VI was succeeded to the throne with his uncle, Edward seymour who will became Lord Protector of the realm in january 31, 1547 after the burial of Henry VIII three days later Edward VI was crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey this is only the begnning of the 5th season, the tudors this is about his children will begin Edward VI ruled February 20, 1547-July 7, 1553 P.S The opening 5th season of the… Read more »
Noooooo why do all the good shows get cancelled? I would pay a monthly fee just to watch this show. They are saying it’s very expensive to produce the show :-/. How about making it into a movie with all the same characters?
I am so sad. I will be canceling my showtime during the winter to save some money and will check the website for the premiere date. I love the show and have season 1 & 2 on dvd. Once the series is ended, I will no longer have showtime.
The Tudors and The Brotherhood (now cancelled) were the only reasons my husband and I signed up for Showtime when we moved. I too had hoped that they would continue the story line with Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth. Here’s hoping Showtime reconsiders their decision.
Oh say it isn’t so…..I wait and wait for the seasons to begin!! I am heartbroken that the story will be over with after the fourth season. The Tuodrs legacy and storyline could continue for many more seasons after Henry VIII……I must go cry in my pillow now
Brillant. Well cast, well acted, and the costumes and settings fab. Very sorry to see it end. We need more of this type of TV – intelligent writing which explores the forces that have shaped our history.
Please don’t cancel this series!! I was hoping it would continue to explore this fascinating family and time in history. Although it’s certainly not completely historically accurate, I would still love to see it explore the short reign of Henry’s son, Edward, then on to his daughter, Bloody Mary’s, time as queen and then, finally, the reign of Elizabeth I. That alone could keep this show on for years!! The story and characters would continue to evolve and stay interesting. Showtime, please, please, think about keeping this show!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I am so utterly heartbroken! How can they end it? There aren’t enough episodes in the seasons as it is and now it is ending? Not fair!
I absolutley love The Tudors. I will greatly miss it. Espescially Henry Cavill!!
brilliant and wanting more!!!!…..jonathan is soooo sexy……….
At least they are making a point of giving closure. HBO always just pulls the plug on historical-based shows and leaves everyone hanging (Rome, Deadwood)
The Tudors is brilliant, so well done in every possible way, I will sorely, completely, whole-heartedly miss it. I wish it went on forever . . .
I’m shocked to hear this.
This is the first premium channel series that I actually schedule into my calendar to be home to see on Sunday Nights.
For those of us that are drawn to period pieces this series is great and it’s ashame to have the last bits of history shoved into the last 10 shows in season 4 then to bring it out to season 5. The Tudors will be missed. The cast was brilliant and scenery and costuming fanomable.