Let's credit Downton Abbey for fueling our appetite for British period drama. Suddenly, we're awash in juicy series dealing with the lives of British queens when they were young and feisty.
First there was The Crown on Netflix, which brought us 10 fascinating episodes dealing with the early reign of Queen Elizabeth II from 1947 to 1955. Future seasons will take her tale forward.
Claire Foy earned a Golden Globe on Jan. 8 for her portrayal of the young queen and the series won the Best TV Drama Series award.
Elizabeth II, who's 90 now, has reigned since Feb. 6, 1952, making her Britain's longest-reigning monarch, surpassing the reign in 2015 of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria.
Which brings us to the next delightful series.
Victoria, a lavish and ambitious Masterpiece presentation, debuts today with a two-hour episode at 8 p.m. on AETN. Hour episodes follow on subsequent Sundays at 8 p.m. through March 5.
The still-living Elizabeth is one thing. Depending on how old you are, you've either watched her grow up as queen, or seen her as the quiet little gray-haired monarch enduring the Prince Charles, Lady Diana years, or doting on her grandchildren, including Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton.
Victoria, on the other hand, lived from 1819 to 1901 and seems frozen in photographs as the plump, slightly bug-eyed and stodgy matriarch who gave her name to an entire era.
Victoria earned her maternal qualities the old-fashioned way, having produced nine children with her beloved Prince Albert, who left her a widow the last 40 years of her life.
But Victoria wasn't always the queen of history books. She was young once, beautiful and full of life. And tiny. Victoria was a little bitty thing, barely 5 feet tall. That's where the Masterpiece presentation picks things up.
The eight-hour drama follows Victoria (Jenna Coleman) from the time she becomes queen in 1837 at the age of 18, through her relationship with Lord Melbourne (Rufus Sewell), a father figure who became her first prime minister and intimate friend, and her courtship and marriage to her first cousin, the handsome, brilliant and awkward Prince Albert (Tom Hughes, Dancing on the Edge).
Coleman sparkles in the role. Viewers may know her from Doctor Who. From 2012 to 2015, she played Clara Oswald, companion to the 11th and 12th incarnations (Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi) of the Doctor.
Sewell starred in the CBS drama Eleventh Hour, and is best known most recently from The Man in the High Castle.
The series instantly captivates us with Victoria's dilemma. She was an ill-prepared, ill-educated, sheltered teenager who found herself on the throne after her father (Prince Edward) and his three elder brothers all died without leaving any surviving legitimate children.
Refusing to be manipulated by her German-born mother and surrounding sycophants, Victoria seems to be a most modern monarch who had it all -- love, family, responsibility and the support of her country.
The series shows how Victoria came into her own, rising to the challenges and dealing with a series of crises while still holding onto her natural charm and sense of justice.
Victoria has been renewed for a second season.
• Obama farewell. What History Channel is labeling "President Barack Obama's most in-depth final TV interview of his presidency" airs at 8 p.m. today. The two-hour special, The 44th President: In His Own Words, includes interviews with a who's-who roster of Obama's staff and Congress.
Set to appear are:
Vice President Joe Biden; Secretary of State John Kerry; Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner; Attorney General Eric Holder; National Security Adviser Susan Rice; Chief of Staff Denis McDonough; Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett; Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes; former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel; former Education Secretary Arne Duncan; Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell; former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor; journalists; and more.
Conducted before and after the presidential election, the interview will be Obama's first-hand account of his successes, failures, race relations, dealings with Congress and what a Trump presidency will mean to his legacy.
• Awards season. Last week's Golden Globes was the traditional opening for the winter awards season. On the horizon are a number of others:
People's Choice, Wednesday, CBS.
Screen Actors Guild, Jan. 29, TNT/TBS.
Grammys, Feb. 17, CBS.
Oscars, Feb. 26, ABC.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 01/15/2017