WATCH: Nicholas Galitzine is a scheming duke in new miniseries based on one of history’s juiciest gay scandals

Fresh off his breakthrough role as brooding Prince Henry in the rom-com Red, White & Royal Blue, Nicholas Galitzine is set to play another gay royal—only this one’s even juicer!

Headed to Starz in 2024 is the miniseries Mary & George, a historical drama based on the real gay scandal that shocked an empire.

Galitzine stars as George Villiers, the charming 1st Duke of Buckingham, with the great Julianne Moore as his conniving mother, The Countess Mary Villiers. Though she came from humble beginnings, Mary was infamously power hungry, and would stop at nothing to climb the ranks of the monarchy: bribery, collusion, marrying solely for political gain. She was ruthless (and a bit of a girlboss, we might add).

But perhaps the stunt-iest stunt she ever pulled was using her beautiful son as a honeypot, dangling him in front of King James I whose proclivity for bedding men and women was an open secret.

Well, that depends on which scholars and historians you ask, but many believe the gambit worked: the king and George eventually became lovers, earning the young Duke the title of “the king’s favorite.”

In any event, that juicy gay gossip is the thrust of Mary & George—emphasis on the thrust. The miniseries traces the Villiers’ rise to become one of country’s richest and most influential families, the scheming George boinking his way to the top. And, in typical Starz fashion, it looks like the series won’t be holding back on steaminess.

As Moore’s Mary Villiers purrs to her son in the first-look teaser, “If I were a man and I looked like you, I’d rule the f*cking planet”—and he just might!

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In addition to Moore and Galitzine—who look to be quite the dynamic on-screen duo—the series will stars Outlaw King‘s Tony Curran as a particularly lascivious King James I, who’s described as “so c*ck-struck it’s like a curse.”

Cats‘ Laurie Davidson, River‘s Nicola Walker, Culprits‘ Niamh Algar, and Into The Woods‘ Simon Russell Beale rounding out the cast.

Created by acclaimed playwright and Killing Eve writer D.C. Moore, Mary & George is based on the non-fiction book The King’s Assassin by Benjamin Woolley. All seven episodes will be helmed by gay filmmaker Oliver Hermanus, who previously directed celebrated queer wartime film Moffie and 2022’s period drama Living, which received Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay nominations at the Oscars.

Slated to air on the Sky network in the U.K. in 2024, Starz just announced today that they’ll be the U.S. home for the seven-episode series (though there’s no specific premiere date yet), and even shared a thrilling, first-look teaser which you can watch below:

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