Where is airing: Showtime
For what age: 15+
How many episodes in 2 season: 10 episodes
The King makes himself head of the Church of England while the Catholic Church fights a losing battle to control Henry VIII's desire for an annulment. Anne Boleyn demands that Henry breaks off contact with Katherine, so the noble Queen is banished from court. On top of that The Reformation is underway.
It's Christmas but the court is not very cheerful in the absence of a queen. Sir Thomas More makes an important decision and Thomas Cranmer visits Lutheran Germany. Henry has an argument with Charles Brandon and Henry and Anne visit France.
Henry can no longer be patient. With the Pope's blessing, he appoints Thomas Cranmer the Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry and Anne marry in secret, without even waiting for the annulment of Henry's first marriage. Anne gives birth to her and Henry's first child.
Henry and Anne's first child, a daughter named Elizabeth is baptised. Henry submits a bill to Parliament which will become his first 'Act of Succession'. According to this act, only the children from his marriage to Anne can inherit the throne. The act includes the requirement that every subject, on demand, takes an oath acknowledging the King's marriage to Anne and his supremacy in all thing secular and spiritual.
In the eyes of the Church, Henry's marriage to Anne is not legitimate. Both Thomas More and Bishop Fisher refuse to acknowledge Henry as the supreme head of the English Church. As a result, both are imprisoned in the Tower of London. Despite his marriage, Henry still finds plenty of beautiful women to look at.
Despite the Pope excommunicating Henry, the Reformation continues. Sir Thomas Cromwell is tasked to make the king and the Reformation more popular and he uses plays to achieve this goal. Henry has nightmares featuring Thomas More and Anne Boleyn becomes increasingly insecure as Henry continues to have affairs.
The English Reformation is in full swing. Queen Anne suffers from nightmares and feels threatened by Katherine and her daughter. Henry pays an unplanned visit to an old friend, Sir John Seymour, father of Jane Seymour.
Queen Anne is as cold as ice when she welcomes Jane Seymour as a new lady in waiting. Succession is the word on everyone's lips when the king is knocked of his horse during a joust. Queen Anne walks in on Henry and is shocked by what she sees before her very eyes. The consequences of her shock cause both her and Henry much distress.
Anne has lost a son and with it her last chance at a lasting marriage with Henry. The King's affections are shifting anyway: the Seymour family are awarded rooms at court and seem likely to replace the Boleyns as royal favourites. Several in the court begin to move against Anne who is accused of adultery. Arrests are made of suspected lovers and of Anne herself. All, including the Queen, are sentenced to passing.
Queen Anne is imprisoned in the Tower, awaiting her execution. The king granted her wish for a special executioner, but he is delayed and the execution has to be postponed. King Henry proposes to Jane Seymour now that his marriage to Anne has been declared null and void. He hopes she will gave him a legitimate, male heir.
