Reign (2013)

It's Pretty Little Liars meets Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, and it's good, frothy fun. [18 Oct 2013, p.59]

The script by Laurie McCarthy and Stephanie SenGupta never finds a wholly convincing Venn diagram intersection between period piece and teen soap, but it also doesn’t bother trying, hoping it can turn insane tonal shifts into a virtue by stepping on the gas. That this approach mostly works is thanks to their script being unafraid to unleash the crazy and the surprisingly beautiful direction from Brad Silberling, who makes the most of an Irish location shoot the rest of the series won’t have the advantage of.

History purists who loathe artists taking creative license steer clear, but for viewers who enjoy a good soap, gorgeous costumes/locations and a winning soundtrack, The CW’s Reign delivers an entertaining romp in its premiere outing.

Once you get past the utter silliness of the idea, Reign is kind of a kick.

Reign isn't half bad at times with its marvelous costumes, palace intrigues and Follows' delicious take on Catherine. But the minute you start getting into fantasy, you're yanked right out by the contemporary music and other oddities—like a montage of giggling gals putting on makeup.

Reign is a bit of forgettable froth that might amuse you for a few minutes.

What The CW is doing here (and Kane perpetuates with her take on teenage girls and their intelligence) is approaching television with the perspective that the target audience is profoundly idiotic.