BBC confirms brand new Tudor England drama series with "profound warning for the modern world"

The BBC has announced that a brand-new Tudor drama is on the way, adapting Ava Pickett's stage play titled 1536.

The new eight-part series, which will have the same title, is coming from production company Drama Republic (Riot Women), and will be made up of 30-minute episodes.

The synopsis for the series, which is set in the heart of Tudor England against the backdrop of Anne Boleyn’s arrest, says that it "centres around Anna, Mariella and Jane: three young women gossiping, arguing and dreaming in an Essex village, desperately waiting for their lives to start".

The synopsis continues: "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?"

The synopsis concludes: "A darkly comic and terrifyingly relevant story about friendship, sisterhood and a changing world, 1536 is 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?"

Pickett, who is adapting the series herself, has previously written for series including The Great, Ten Pound Poms, Bad Education, The Buccaneers, Brassic and How to Get to Heaven from Belfast.

She said in a statement: "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.

"In a world where every decision made in the corridors of power ricochets through all of our lives, this story feels more relevant than ever. I’m so grateful to Lindsay Salt for being such a champion of it from the start."

Meanwhile, Rebecca de Souza, executive producer for Drama Republic, added: "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.

"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."

The cast for the series has not yet been announced, with further details set to be confirmed in due course.

1536 will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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