ITV has found its replacement for ‘Downton Abbey’ in the form of a new period drama on Queen Victoria.
To be created with a lavish setting similar to that of its award-winning predecessor, the eight-episode series titled ‘Victoria’ will the follow the events in her first few years as a female ruler.
Queen Victoria was known for being a “rebellious teenager” who was crowned at 18 and became a powerful monarch whose reign was believed to have been wrought with unpleasantness and controversy.
Created by the makers of the British TV series ‘Poldark, the upcoming period drama will reportedly take on the slot that will be left by ‘Downton Abbey’, which will air its final episode this Christmas after six seasons.
With a total number of 51 Emmy nominations, more than any other British TV series in Emmy history, ‘Downton Abbey’ has become one of the most popular and widely recognized shows on television.
Aside from winning 11 Emmys, it has also been honored with three Golden Globes, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and three BAFTAs, among others.
As such, ITV executives have been pushing forward to replace the series with a show that is expected to appeal to audiences the same way that ‘Downton Abbey’ won viewers over.
‘Victoria’ has been set to begin filming this September and will make its debut on TV next year. While cast members are yet to be announced, the plot is likely to combine fascinating storylines of characters with the same upstairs-downstairs drama as shown in ‘Downton Abbey.’
“Queen Victoria’s court is the perfect setting for an epic drama – a seething hotbed of scandal, corruption and romantic intrigue, involving everyone from the humblest dresser to the Mistress of the Robes, the lowliest bootboy to the Lord Chamberlain,” producer Damien Timmer said.
‘Victoria’ will be the first screenplay created by author and former TV producer Daisy Goodwin, who made use of the young monarch’s memoirs as source material.
The queen’s reign had been a memorable and eventful one as controversy began in 1839 when her mother’s lady-in-waiting Lady Flora Rawdon-Hastings died.
Lady Flora was known to have a close relationship with Sir John Conroy, a confidante of the queen’s mother. After developing an enlarged stomach, Victoria had her suspicions that Lady Flora was pregnant by Sir John.
Her mother’s lady-in-waiting was then subjected to a medical condition and the rumors quieted down when results showed that she was struggling with a cancerous tumor that quickly spread and became her cause of death.
Due to the false rumors that Victoria started, the young queen became unpopular and her reputation was only redeemed when she exchanged wedding vows with Prince Albert in 1840 and gave birth soon after.
Aside from such circumstances, the upcoming ITV drama will also feature other events such as a political crisis concerning Robert Peel and his decision to turn his back against Victoria’s offer to make him Prime Minister. Within three years, there were also two unsuccessful assassination attempts.
