Photo: The CW
What is this thing?
This is a drama, set in the 16th century, about the arrival of Mary, Queen Of Scots (Adelaide Kane) in the French court, so that she can marry future king Francis (Toby Regbo), to whom she's been betrothed since they were both kids. But nothing is as it seeeeeeems.
Why now?
Are you kidding? The CW's already proven it knows how to do period dramas: hellooooooo, The Carrie Diaries?! ...Just kidding. I assume the network wants to recapture some Game Of Thrones magic -- more so the fancy accents, costumes, swordplay, and palace intrigue than the dragons, of which I saw none in the pilot -- but with the girl-centric focus typical of CW shows; in addition to Mary, there are also the romances and schemings of her four sassy ladies-in-waiting. I mean, yes, there are other shows that have been set in this general era -- The White Queen, Da Vinci's Demons, The Tudors -- but I doubt The CW is counting on its audience having seen any of those.
What's its pedigree?
Brad "Casper" Silberling has directed it, but the creator is Laurie McCarthy, who's written such enjoyably lowbrow shows as GCB, The Ghost Whisperer, and CSI: Miami (as well as the fairly middlebrow Felicity). McCarthy co-wrote the pilot with Stephanie Sengupta, whose CV includes both Law & Order and Criminal Intent. So this is kind of a big departure for everyone involved behind the scenes.
...And?
I sincerely can't believe how expensive this looks; if I thought any of the premium cable networks cared enough about teenaged girls to put any of them at the center of any of their shows, this wouldn't look out of place. I also admire the show's producers for using a mix of historic-ish and contemporary music on the soundtrack, and for not being terribly fussy about, for instance, making the girls' hairstyles look that period-accurate; it's the same thing they do on The Carrie Diaries (making the styling suggestive of the era but still feel appealingly aspirational) and it's a smart way of hooking the target viewer. Also! Catherine de Medici, Francis's non-royal mother, is played by Megan Follows: Anne Of Green Gables! And she's assisted in her crooked plans by Nostradamus, who's played by Rossif Sutherland, a.k.a. Kiefer's brother!
...But?
I'm into all the jockeying for power -- it's basically 16th Century Gossip Girl in terms of people getting their wicked way via sexual gamesmanship -- but between Nostradamus's visions of Mary bringing about Francis's death, and the warnings Mary's been getting from some kind of otherworldly guardian angel (or demon), the supernatural stuff is a lot less compelling to me.
...So?
The ambition of the pilot is enough to keep me watching for the time being. I also feel like I need to support this kind of risk on the network's part so that we're spared more generic efforts in the Arrow/Beauty And The Beast/The Tomorrow People mold next season.