Ivan Radford | On 07, Jul 2024

“History remembers her as the ultimate damsel in distress. F*** that.” Those are the words of the narrator of My Lady Jane, Amazon’s new historical romp based on the tale of Lady Jane Grey. Jane Grey, for those who aren’t up to speed on their Tudor history, really did exist. Named as the heir to King Edward VI at the age of 17, she was queen of England for a whole nine days, before being deposed by Bloody Mary and, eventually, beheaded. My Lady Jane, it’s safe to say, is not interested in telling that story.

By now, the idea of reworking history into what-ifstory isn’t quite the bold move that Amazon might think it is: recent years have given us Dickinson, Bridgerton and The Great, following in the footsteps of Sofia Copolla’s Marie Antoinette to create reimaginings of history that call out sexist traditions and tropes, diversify the all-white conventions of period dramas, and soundtrack them all with playful covers of modern songs. So by the time we’re told Jane has “the raging horn” for Lord Guildford Dudley, while Kate Nash belts out All the Day and All of the Night, it all feels very familiar territory.

Creator Gemma Burgess – adapting the 2016 novel by Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton and Cynthia Hand – dials up the swearing to try and keep us on our toes, which swiftly begins to lose its shock effect. But the cast are more than up for the bawdy, in-your-face anarchy, and it’s a huge amount of fun just watching them enjoy themselves.

The sparky Emily Bader is note-perfect as Jane, a herbologist, healer and author who wants her freedom above all else. She’s matched every step towards the bedroom by Edward Bluemel as the roguish Lord Guildford, who turns out to be a decent sort – or at least a massively charismatic sort – so that everyone within 10 miles is head over heels for his bad boy attitude.

They’re supported by an entertaining ensemble, which includes the always-funny Rob Brydon as Lord Dudley, Jane’s desperately power-hungry father-in-law, the formidable Anna Chancellor as Jane’s knowingly horrible mum, Dominic Cooper as the wonderfully wicked Lord Seymour and Kate O’Flynn as the dominating Mary pulling his strings, plus Kevin Eldon as a creepy doctor and Jordan Peters as the endearingly kind King Edward VI.

The 50-minute episode runtimes threaten to take the pace out of the witty humour, but directors Jamie Babbit and Stefan Scwhartz keep scenes moving with a balance of convincing period locations and witty cliffhangers. The show’s secret weapon, though, is that it isn’t just a post-modern send-up of history, but a fantasy epic to boot. Events unfold in an England where the population is divided in two: Verities, who are normal humans, and Ethians, shape-shifting animal-human outsiders who are unfairly demonised by the ruling powers. That sprinkling of magic gives My Lady Jane a distinct identity to match the sparkling personality of its thoroughly modern lead – and turns what could have been a sub-The Great revisionist comedy into a charming romp in its own right.

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