BarcelonaIt is a historical series, but also of fantasy and love. My Lady Jane, from Amazon, is many things at once – some surreal – and yet it works to the point of having become the big surprise of the summer. Based on a novel aimed at young audiences, this British fiction released at the end of June reimagines the true story of Lady Jane Grey, re-bride of Henry VIII and crowned queen to prevent the ascension to the throne of the Catholic Maria Tudor (Maria I), his cousin. In the real world, she was a short-lived monarch: nine days until she was imprisoned and beheaded (the same fate that befell two of Henry VIII’s wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard). In the fiction, the very independent and empowered Jane ends up defying death.
Jane Gray died at 17, but at 16 she was already married to Lord Guildford Dudley, to whom she was betrothed for political reasons. Despite being a marriage of convenience, the future queen defined herself as “a wife in love with her husband”. In this sentence lies part of the key to the success of the series, since, despite being a fiction of palatine intrigues, one of the elements that has hooked the public is the relationship between the two protagonists, interpreted by the American Emily Bader and the British Edward Bluemel. The chemistry between the two has made many viewers point out My Lady Jane with the perfect alternative to The Bridgertonswhich with the third season has disappointed those who were looking for it the same level of sensuality as the previous installments. “You have to see My Lady Jane… It is as if they had written The Bridgertons placed on ketamine, and I say that as a compliment”, assured a user through X.
“We take one of the most tragic heroines in history, give her the lead and allow her to be bold and tell her own story -says Bader-. Every woman who has been used as a pawn deserves a funny romantic comedy to be written about her,” he adds.
Fantastic transformations
One of the possible definitions of My Lady Jane is that it is an irreverent historical series, as is, for example, The Great, centered on the biography of Catherine the Great (can be seen through the MGM+ channel, also available on Amazon). One of the reasons for the irreverence of the series is that it avoids the conflict between Catholics and Protestants – Jane Gray was a Protestant – and invents a schism of fantastic character between etianshumans who transform into animals, and truths, 100% human people. One of the obsessions of Mary Tudor, Jane’s enemy, is to exterminate the etians. It is a plot that would not pass the filter of any scholar, but it is in line with the marked comic character, which is strengthened thanks to established actors such as Anna Chancellor, Rob Brydon and Jim Broadbent.
As in the case of Los Brigderton, one of the elements that gives a touch of modernity is the soundtrack. While the Netflix series uses an instrumental version of well-known pop music themes, the Amazon series has opted for versions of rock classics, such as Tainted loveperformed by the band Goat Girl, Wild thing o Rebel, rebel.
Despite the fervor for the series that can be detected on networks, Amazon has not yet announced whether it will make a second season. “If we’re lucky enough to get renewed, we’ll explore how the characters survive in a world where Jane is free but the kingdom is not,” he explained to Entertainment Weekly the showrunner of the series, Gemma Burgess. If fiction decides to continue the couple’s story, it will surely have to go beyond what the book written by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadow explains. These three authors have made a fortune thanks to the series of books about different famous Janes. Apart from the novel about the English monarch, they have one –My plain Jane– which turns the story of Jane Eyre, the character created by Charlotte Brontë, and another about Calamity Jane. The fourth book they have folded also has monarchical connections: a My contrary Mary, Mary of Scotland transforms into a mouse.
Romantic novel, the bedrock of platforms
After years of neglect, the romance novel is booming and the platforms have taken notice. Many streaming services are choosing to adapt these books into series. At the local level, one of the most obvious examples is ‘Valeria’, by Elisabeth Benavent. The latest author who has become an object of desire on the platforms is the American Emily Henry. Four of his novels will make the jump to the screen. One of them is ‘Un lugar feliz’, which will arrive in series format on Netflix by Jennifer Lopez, who through her production company has acquired the rights to the book.
Source: www.ara.cat
