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The Tudors
SummaryThe Tudors focuses on the life and romances of the young King Henry VIII. The first series takes a look at the often overlooked, early political relationships as well as Henry's trysts with such notable women as Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. The second series looks at King Henry's struggle with the Pope over his divorce, and his marriage... Read More
Season Premiere: 
Mar 30, 2008
Metascore
Generally Favorable
68
User score
Generally Favorable
7.3
My Score
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
68
63% Positive
10 Reviews
38% Mixed
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
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  • Negative Reviews
100
San Francisco Chronicle
Hirst, Rhys Meyers and the rest of the cast (and Bergin's costumes) make it all somehow meatier but no less entertaining in Season 2.
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)
The Reformation is what this equally entertaining second season is about, plus ditching the brunette, Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer), in favor of the blonde, Jane Seymour (Anita Briem).
80
The Hollywood Reporter
The acting here is first-rate, the details sharp and the cinematography superb. In other words, Tudors hasn't lost a step.
75
New York Daily News
The acting, led by Rhys Meyers, is solid. The costumes and production are good and the dialogue smooth, though one wonders if clergy in the 16th century really used the word "newfangled."
60
Variety
Mixing equal parts court intrigue with Calvin Klein ad, the series falls short of greatness.
42
Entertainment Weekly
Henry and Anne nag and harp and tongue each other. It's like asking us to root for a particularly vapid reality TV couple.
40
Chicago Tribune
This is one historical drama that takes itself far more seriously than it deserves to, given the quality of the writing and the flatness of many performances.
See All 16 Critic Reviews
User score
Generally Favorable
7.3
79% Positive
26 Ratings
6% Mixed
2 Ratings
15% Negative
5 Ratings
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  • Positive Reviews
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Feb 9, 2019
4
FilipeNeto
This series was produced by a Canadian TV channel and had four seasons. It's name corresponds to the House of Tudor, one of the most notable royal English dynasties. For those who don't know or don't remember, this dynasty gave five kings to England: Henry VII, Henry VIII and his three sons (Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I). But despite that, the series focuses entirely on Henry VIII and this makes the title's choice a mistake. If it's about Tudors, where is Henry VII and why the series ends with the death of Henry VIII? Throughout the four seasons, there are dozens of actors entering and leaving, giving life to several people who were part of the court during the life of a king that most of people knows best by his six queens. But if there is something that deserves congratulations is the cast's performance. The highlight is for Jonathan Rhys Meyers (the volcanic king Henry), Henry Cavill (Charles Brandon), Peter O'Toole (in a brief role, as Pope Paul III) and the six actresses who gave life to the six queens who succeeded the throne and bed of Henry VIII: Maria Doyle Kennedy (Catherine of Aragon), Natalie Dormer (Anne Boleyn), Annabelle Wallis (Jane Seymour), Joss Stone (Anne of Cleves), Tamzin Merchant (Catherine Howard) and Joely Richardson (Catherine Parr). Now let's talk about the script. Here, the series makes a lot of mistakes (some more excusable than others). First of all, it exaggerates in the sex scenes. It's too much gratuitous sex for no reason, totally out of context and anachronistic, in situations and acts that would never happen in the sixteenth century. Okay, we aren't saints and we know that sex sells, but do they really need to turn queens and ladies into sidewalk ****? Worse than that is the enormous distortion of historical events and facts. How could a sister of the King of England marry the aged King Manuel I of Portugal if that same king married only three times and always with daughters of the Catholic Kings of Castile? And the insulting way as the court of Portugal, the richest and most powerful country in the world at that time, was portrayed? There are dozens of moments when the script runs over history, justifying that with "dramatic purposes"... but this argument isn't enough to justify arbitrary changes in the way historical facts and figures are portrayed. Speaking of anachronism, let's look at some furniture more closely and we will see some baroque furniture (18th century) in scenarios that should correspond to a period almost three hundred years earlier. One of the most egregious examples is the bed placed in the room of Charles Brandon (4th season), clearly baroque and portraying, in the back, the British coat of arms of the House of Hanover. Just pause the video and watch. Another problem, even more evident, is the wardrobe of the cast, in regard to something as prosaic as the underwear. If you look closely at the scenes, especially sex scenes, the actors almost never have the underwear that any person of the sixteenth century should use. This is even more blatant in women, who should wear inner skirts and a kind of shorts which helped to hold the tights, together with the garter. Conclusion: this series is not about the Tudors but about the way we, in the twenty-first century, see the reign of Henry VIII. Almost everything is fiction. Forget history, forget everything and understand this: this series created a fictional story based on real historical facts and characters. It's sex-driven fiction, the way people like it. Want to know true history? Read a book.
See All 33 User Reviews
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