TV review: Mary and George has swagger, filth — and Julianne Moore is a force of nature
Julianne Moore stars as Mary and Nicholas Galitzine as George in Mary and George on Sky Atlantic
(Sky Atlantic and NOW) has Julianne Moore, so it’s never going to be bad. But is it any good?
It moulds the true story of Mary Villiers and her son George, portrayed here by Nicholas Galitzine, who came from relatively nowhere in English society to a position of power thanks to George’s lover, King James I of England. The first good thing about it is that they don’t try and talk 1600s speak, so it feels modern and relevant rather than an excuse for people to wear uncomfortable clothes.
It’s funny as well. George is sent across the channel by the ruthless Mary so he can learn manners and marry well. After a walk-through a château, which has room after room of people having if off with each other, George asks his host where he is. “France” says his host with a grinning glance that wouldn’t be out of place in a Carry On movie.
There’s more to it than that. George starts out mild and passive, unsure of his sexuality, powerless in the face of his mother’s master plan. In the meantime, Mary has a hand in her brutal husband’s death and marries a bluff northern aristocrat who curses like a bitcoin trader. But he’s decent and well-connected, so Mary spots a chance to meet the King when he arrives for a visit.
No one does period drama like the Brits, so it’s all very believable even if Mary’s husband refers to the King as His Maj. Was that a thing then? I don’t care, it’s a rollicking good watch from the first minute.
The royal party arrives up north and they’re as rude as you’d expect. Moore is a force of nature as Mary, and stalks the halls of the house looking for King James when he refuses to come down for dinner. When she comes across him snogging his Lord Chamberlain, she spots the chance to get her handsome son into place.
In the meantime, George is being schooled by his French tutor in fencing, sex and breaking all the rules. So he returns home, welcomed by his mother as “whoever you are", and she immediately wangles him a gig serving meat to the King at a dinner party. It isn’t love at first sight, but nearly. Tony Curran is slightly too Scottish as the King, but there’s nothing wrong with a bit of Scottish.
The first episode ends with Mary underlining her ferocious appetite for social climbing. Mary and George has swagger, breaks the rules and it’s filthy without being explicit. If that sounds like your kind of show, then like me, you should give it a watch.
