Yet Turner-Smith makes the miniseries so captivating it scarcely matters, in a layered, “ identity-conscious” performance that contrasts the queen’s private panic with her initially shrewd but progressively unraveling public self-presentation. (In another welcome casting choice, Paapa Essiedu of I May Destroy You plays Anne’s brother George.) We all know how that campaign ended, and Eve Hedderwick Turner’s script doesn’t necessarily add much from a historical or thematic perspective. As a weak Henry (Mark Stanley from Game of Thrones) wavers and crafty Thomas Cromwell (Barry Ward) plots, Anne schemes to save herself and her young daughter in the aftermath of a miscarriage that turns the court against her. Yet I’ve never seen an Anne quite as haunting as the one Queen & Slim star Jodie Turner-Smith embodies here.Ī three-part series imported from Britain’s Channel 5, Anne Boleyn chronicles the queen’s downfall in the style of a psychological thriller. On screens big and small, such celebrated actors as Vanessa Redgrave, Claire Foy, Helena Bonham Carter, Natalie Portman and Natalie Dormer have portrayed the tragic figure of Anne Boleyn. The tumultuous reign of Henry VIII is one such tale, memorably retold on TV in the BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall as well as in Showtime’s frothy The Tudors. Sometimes a stunning performance is enough to reinvigorate an old story. From a Harlem-set sitcom to a holiday romance by the creator who updated One Day at a Time, to a beautifully acted pair of UK imports and a pandemic drama that might well leave you feeling hopeful, here are five new shows to help you survive a second Christmas on the couch. It’s cold comfort, I know, but the best I can offer is this list of worthy distractions. Which is probably a good thing, as yet another COVID spike has thrown yet another wrench into many Omicron-fearing would-be revelers’ festivities. But December 2021 has brought more than just end-of-year dregs and Yuletide treacle to TV-and I’m not talking about that dire Sex and the City sequel. The annual best-of lists are already out, sweeps month (to the extent that it still matters) is over before Thanksgiving and, traditionally, we’re all too busy shopping and holiday-partying and visiting family to spend too much time in front a screen. There’s no such thing as a slow month in the TV-release calendar anymore, but December does still often feel like an afterthought.
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