It Starts On The Page: Read ‘Mary & George’ Premiere Script “The Second Son” By D.C. Moore
28.05.2024 - 18:35
/ deadline.com
Editor’s note: Deadline’s It Starts on the Page features standout limited or anthology series scripts in 2024 Emmy contention.
D.C. Moore took a rare foray into television for his Starz limited series Mary & George, having last penned an entire series nearly a decade ago with the British drama-comedy, Not Safe For Work.
Taking inspiration from one of the more lively periods in British history, Mary & George, based on Benjamin Woolley’s non-fiction book The King’s Assassin, stars Julianne Moore as a single mother who is determined to gain notoriety (read: money) for her family. Even if it means volunteering her son, played by Nicholas Galitzine, as a lover for King James.
Written by Moore and directed by Oliver Hermanus, the opening episode, titled “The Second Son,” sets the tone for the series and introduces Mary Villiers (Moore) as quite a mastermind in 15th century England. As a commoner, Mary understands that she must play by society’s rules, even if she sees through the thinly veiled nonsense of it all. But, that doesn’t mean she has to stay powerless. Enter her son, George Villiers (Galitzine) who, despite being a second son of a poor family, is positioned to become one of the most powerful men in England thanks to his sexual exploits with the king.
Here is “The Second Son” script with an introduction from Moore, in which he discusses capturing the spirit of the Jacobean era through the lives of Mary and George Villiers — two fascinating figures who hold quite a lot of significance to the British monarch — and explains why he was keen to shed light on this moment in history.
King James VI of Scotland and I of England loved men. With his mind and body.
For a very long time this fact was ignored, denied, or danced