A new BBC series about the arrest of Anne Boleyn has been announced.
Set in Tudor England, 1536 is being written by Ava Pickett, based on her hit play of the same name.
The 8-part period drama will weave “royal scandal with rural struggle,” we’re told, in “a darkly comic and terrifyingly relevant story about friendship, sisterhood and a changing world.”
1536 will focus on the characters of Anna, Mariella and Jane: three young women gossiping, arguing and dreaming in an Essex village, desperately waiting for their lives to start. When the news reaches them that King Henry VIII has had his Queen, Anne Boleyn, arrested, the three of them never suspect that this act will change their lives forever.
As the weeks unfold, Anna, Jane and Mariella notice a rising tide of puritanism and misogyny. They attempt to navigate marriage, relationships, betrayals and births but as the fate of a Queen in a tower is sealed, they discover that being a woman in a volatile country is dangerous. As their own fates come into focus, the three try desperately to hold on to their friendship – but can it last or must they turn on each other to survive?
English writer Ava Pickett has previously written episodes of The Great, Ten Pound Poms, The Buccaneers, and Netflix’s new show How to Get to Heaven from Belfast.
She’s also penned Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming movie about Joan of Arc, so she’s no stranger to writing about iconic female historical figures.
“Ava Pickett’s writing is truly unique, thrilling, and funny, and we are so excited to be working with her in producing her first original series,” teased executive producer Rebecca de Souza.
“Audiences were knocked out by her play 1536; it is so bold and entertaining, but it also creeps under your skin, leaving a profound warning for the modern world – a period show from a fresh and urgent viewpoint,” de Souza added.
The BBC’s director of drama, Lindsay Salt, said: “From the moment we saw Ava’s play we knew that we had to have the TV version on the BBC.”
The official synopsis describes 1536 as “a series that explores how the actions of a man in power changes the fate of working class women on the edges of the country – it asks if a King can murder his Queen, what does that mean for women elsewhere and how much have things really changed?”
Watch the trailer for the play’s run at the Almeida Theatre in London:
“1536 is something I am immensely proud of and I feel so lucky and privileged to have the chance to bring Anna, Jane and Mariella to a wider audience and to build out their lives even more,” commented writer Ava Pickett.
Filming on the eight 30-minute episodes is expected to begin later this year, with the series premiering in the UK on BBC One and streaming on BBC iPlayer in 2027.
