The White Princess

Network: Starz
Episodes: Eight (hour)
Seasons: One

TV show dates: April 16, 2017 — June 4, 2017
Series status: Ended

Performers include: Jodie Comer, Jacob Collins-Levy, Essie Davis, Joanne Whalley, Michelle Fairley, Suki Waterhouse, Rebecca Benson, Rhys Connah, Caroline Goodall, Kenneth Cranham, and Vincent Regan.

TV show description:
A followup to the 2013 10-part historical drama, The White Queen, The White Princess is a TV show adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s novel of the same name.

Beginning in 1485, the series tells the end of the saga of England’s War of the Roses and follows the rise of the House of Tudor, as well as the stormy marriage of Princess Elizabeth of York (Comer) and King Henry VII (Collins-Levy).

Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Dowager Queen Elizabeth (Davis) aka “The White Queen,” has been promised in marriage to King Henry VII in an effort to restore peace. While England is united, the new couple is not, thanks to rumors that Elizabeth’s long-lost brother, Prince Richard, is alive and planning to seize the throne.

Should she choose her new husband and being Tudor wife, or her role as the Princess of York and the boy who claims to be the true heir as well as her own brother?

Paranoid Henry VII makes for an unlikely king. Being forced into marriage with an enemy, in order to cement his rule does little to calm his fears. Elizabeth is none too pleased with the arrangement, either.

Her mother, Dowager Queen Elizabeth, is an expert at strategy and still fully behind the House of York’s claims to the throne. Even after the death of her husband King Edward IV, she has faith York will return to power. Now, the boy she believes is her last surviving son — Prince Richard — seems to be the only remaining challenge to Tudor reign.

A sister to the deceased King Richard III and King Edward VI, the widowed Margaret, Duchess of Burgandy (Whalley), presides over her court in France, but longs for anyone to oppose Henry Tudor.

Philanthropist Margaret Beaufort (Fairley), is Henry VII’s mother, who orchestrated her son’s ascent to the Throne of England. She realizes that ascending to the throne is not enough. They must keep it safe for the Tudor line.

Cecily of York (Waterhouse) is Princess Elizabeth’s self-centered, envious younger sister. They are cousins to Margaret Plantagenet (Benson), a reluctant member of the York clan.

Loyalties will wax and wane, and family members will wind up on opposite sides, as the House of Tudor works to fortify its rule over a splintering empire.

Series Finale:
Episode #8 — Old Curses
A final confrontation with the pretender exposes King Henry’s weaknesses, while Lizzie confronts new demons and old curses.
First aired: June 4, 2017.

What do you think? Do you like the The White Princess TV show? Do you think it should have ended or continued for a second season?