Becoming Elizabeth

Starz has greenlit its latest royal drama — this time focusing on the early years of Queen Elizabeth I.

The Lionsgate-owned cable network has commissioned The Forge, the British producer behind Roadkill and Collateral, to make eight-part series Becoming Elizabeth.

The show was created by playwright Anya Reiss, who wrote theatre productions Spur of the Moment and The Acid Test. Her TV credits include Channel 4’s Ackley Bridge and BBC One soap opera EastEnders. Reiss will serve as the lead writer alongside Emily Ballou (Taboo), Anna Jordan (Succession) and Suhayla El- Bushra (Ackley Bridge).

Becoming Elizabeth centers on the young Elizabeth Tudor, an orphaned teenager who becomes embroiled in the political and sexual politics of the English court on her journey to secure the crown.

The executive producers are Reiss and The Forge’s George Ormond and George Faber. Karen Bailey, Starz’s senior vice president of original programming, is the executive in charge of Becoming Elizabeth. It joins Starz’s other royal dramas including The Spanish Princess, which was renewed for a second season in June.