A Very Royal Scandal is a British historical drama television miniseries from Amazon MGM Studios with Emily Maitlis as executive producer and starring Ruth Wilson as Maitlis and Michael Sheen as Prince Andrew, Duke of York. It is written by Jeremy Brock and directed by Julian Jarrold.
| A Very Royal Scandal | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | Historical drama |
| Based on | Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making News by Emily Maitlis |
| Written by | Jeremy Brock |
| Directed by | Julian Jarrold |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Josh Hyams |
| Running time | 59–61 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Amazon Prime Video |
| Release | 19 September 2024 |
A Very Royal Scandal was released on 19 September 2024 on the streaming service Amazon Prime Video.[1]
Premise
editIt is a dramatic retelling of Emily Maitlis' professional and personal journey leading up to the 2019 BBC television interview of Prince Andrew by Maitlis for BBC Two news and current affairs programme Newsnight.[2][3]
Plot
editEpisode 1
editIn 2008, Jeffrey Epstein cops a plea to state criminal charges in Florida in exchange for federal immunity. Later, in December 2010, Prince Andrew's photo is taken in New York Central Park. The two had been meeting because Andrew was seeking financial advice from Epstein.
In spite of the Florida plea bargain with federal authorities, Epstein is re-arrested by SDNY federal authorities on revived federal charges in 2019. After Epstein's death in August 2019, Prince Andrew agrees to a BBC interview "Prince Andrew & the Epstein Scandal" in November 2019.
The March 2001 photo of the 17-year-old-at-the-time Virginia Giuffre and 41-year-old-at-the-time Prince Andrew at a house on Kinnerton Street has been published in the lead-up to the interview.[4]
In May 2015, Virginia Giuffre contacts the London Metropolitan Police with accusations against Prince Andrew. The Met dismissed the case in 2016 because the activities were largely outside the United Kingdom. Maitlis considers this a "coverup."
In a practice session with her colleagues before the interview, a colleague playing the devil's advocate as Prince Andrew retorts that even if he had sex with Virginia Giuffre in 2001 when she was 17, the age of consent in the United Kingdom was 16.
Episode 2
editA few days before Prince Andrew's Newsnight interview, BBC Panorama interviewed Virginia Giuffre.[5] Andrew denies having danced with Giuffre at the nightclub Tramp in 2001.
Andrew admits to having invited Ghislaine Maxwell to the Windsor Castle and Sandringham House in 2000. Andrew claims that Epstein was Maxwell's plus one.
Andrew says that he was a patron of NSPCC and didn't see any child sexual abuse. He owns up to his long friendship with Maxwell. He was hosted at Maxwell's home at the affluent Belgravia neighborhood of London.
Episode 3
editAfter the state of New York passes the Child Victims Act of 2019,[6] Virginia Giuffre files a civil suit against Prince Andrew claiming that she feared death after her 2001 romantic encounter with the Prince.
Emily Maitlis leaves the BBC at the end of 2021.
The civil case against the Prince is decided to be settled before the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II; he is excluded from the Jubilee.
Cast
edit- Ruth Wilson as Emily Maitlis
- Michael Sheen as Prince Andrew
- Alex Jennings as Sir Edward Young
- Joanna Scanlan as Amanda Thirsk
- Éanna Hardwicke as Stewart MacLean
- Lydia Leonard as Esme Wren
- Honor Swinton Byrne as Princess Beatrice
- Sofia Oxenham as Princess Eugenie
- Claire Rushbrook as Sarah Ferguson
- Clare Calbraith as Sam McAlister
- Robert Neumark Jones as Jason Stein
Production
editThe series is produced for Amazon MGM Studios by Blueprint Pictures. Jeremy Brock is the screenwriter and Julian Jarrold the director. Emily Maitlis is executive producer on the series alongside Karen Thrussell, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Diarmuid McKeown, Brock and Jarrold.[7]
The series is a spiritual successor to A Very English Scandal (2018), about the Thorpe affair, and A Very British Scandal (2021), about the Argyll divorce, both of which were also produced by Blueprint.[8]
Casting
editIn November 2023, Ruth Wilson and Michael Sheen were set in the roles as Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew with Alex Jennings, Joanna Scanlan and Éanna Hardwicke also in the cast.[9] The cast also includes Clare Calbraith as Sam McAlister and Lydia Leonard as Esme Wren from Newsnight, Honor Swinton Byrne and Sofia Oxenham as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and Claire Rushbrook as Sarah Ferguson.[10]
Filming
editAmazon Studios started production on the series in the UK in November 2023.[11][12]
Reception
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 18 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10.[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 66 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[14]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TV Choice Awards | 10 February 2025 | Best New Drama | A Very Royal Scandal | Pending | [15][16] |
| Best Drama Performance | Michael Sheen | Pending |
See also
edit- Scoop – 2024 film produced for Netflix about the same interview, based on a book by former Newsnight editor Sam McAlister.
References
edit- ^ Petski, Denise (13 August 2024). "A Very Royal Scandal: Michael Sheen Is Prince Andrew & Ruth Wilson Is Emily Maitlis In Latest Project On Notorious Newsnight Interview". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ Larman, Alexande (21 November 2023). "Emily Maitlis vs Prince Andrew: will Amazon or Netflix do it better?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ White, James (20 November 2023). "Michael Sheen And Ruth Wilson Starring In A Very Royal Scandal". Empire. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "Prince Andrew: The story behind the Virginia Giuffre image at the centre of case". Independent.
- ^ "'Only One of Us Is Telling the Truth.' The Biggest Moments From Prince Andrew Accuser Virginia Giuffre's BBC Interview". TIME. 2 December 2019.
- ^ "New York passes Child Victims Act, allowing child sex abuse survivors to sue their abusers". CNN. 28 January 2019.
- ^ "A Very Royal Scandal: Michael Sheen to play Prince Andrew in Amazon series about Newsnight interview". Sky News. 21 November 2023. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ Cormack, Morgan (22 November 2023). "Michael Sheen, Ruth Wilson to play Prince Andrew, Emily Maitlis in TV series". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (20 November 2023). "Michael Sheen, Ruth Wilson to Star in 'A Very Royal Scandal' Amazon Series Based on Prince Andrew Interview With Emily Maitlis". Variety Magazine. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ Hibbs, James (19 September 2024). "Meet the cast of A Very Royal Scandal". Radio Times. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ "Michael Sheen to play Prince Andrew in Amazon series". BBC News. 21 November 2023. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ Lee, Benjamin (20 November 2023). "Michael Sheen and Ruth Wilson to star in Prince Andrew Newsnight drama". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "A Very Royal Scandal: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ "A Very Royal Scandal: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ "Vote now for your favourite stars and shows in the 2025 TV Choice Awards!". TV Choice. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ Sheen, Michael (1 October 2024). "@michaelsheen: "Should you wish to vote for A Very Royal Scandal, myself or The Way then you can do it here #TVChoiceAwards"". Twitter.