The Serpent Queen added a welcome jolt of European intrigue to Starz‘s stable of dazzling period dramas when it debuted back in 2022. The series, created by Justin Haythe, follows the story of Catherine de’ Medici (Samantha Morton), one of the cleverest, richest, and most ruthless women in history. Through a series of flashbacks, Catherine explains to her rebellious new maid Rahima (Sennia Nanua) how she went from an impoverished Florentine orphan (Liv Hill) to the unlikely Queen of France. Catherine’s story is full of heartache, scheming, betrayal, murder, and a little bit of magic.
Intrigued? Well, it’s a perfect time to catch up on (or rewatch) The Serpent Queen Season 1 before the second season debuts later this year. Not only can you catch a full marathon on Starz today, but the whole first season of The Serpent Queen is available to stream on the Starz app. Already gobbling up this dark and decadent drama? Then you might be wondering how much of The Serpent Queen is based on a true story and how much is simply fantasy…
Catherine de’ Medici was indeed a real person who lived in the 16th century. She was born in Florence and then bartered in marriage to the French crown by her powerful uncle, Pope Clement VII (Charles Dance). Her marriage to young Henri (Alex Heath), the future King Henri II (Lee Ingleby), was both blessed by the birth of many children and cursed by his eyebrow-raising affair with the much older Diane de Poitiers (Ludivine Sagnier). Catherine did have an interest in the occult, as evidenced by her relationships with Cosimo Ruggieri (Enzo Cilenti) and, later, Nostradamus. Oh, and Mary, Queen of Scotts (Antonia Clarke) was her daughter-in-law for a hot minute. So that’s all true.
However, are the wilder twists and turns in The Serpent Queen based on reality? How much liberty does Starz’s drama take with history? Is The Serpent Queen based on a true story?
Yes! Starz’s The Serpent Queen is based on a true story! The real Catherine de’ Medici was born in Florence on April 13, 1519. When she was only 14 years old, she married Henri (or Henry), the second son of King Francis I of France (Colm Meaney). The marriage was unique insomuch that the Medicis were not royals, but a powerful merchant family who had risen to power via money. Three years later, however, Henri’s brother died and he became the Dauphin, aka heir to the throne of France.
Catherine de’ Medici was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559. She would go on to be the mother of three subsequent kings — Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III — and hold significant sway over French politics through her children’s reigns. In fact, many historians believe that without Catherine’s influence, the House of Valois would have lost their hold on the monarchy much earlier.
As we see in The Serpent Queen, she had many enemies, chief among them Henri II’s lover Diane de Poitiers and the Protestant Bourbons, who would eventually take over as the ruling family upon Henry III’s assassination in 1589 (which coincidentally only occurred months after Catherine’s own death).
That said, The Serpent Queen does take liberties. The character of Rahima is an invention by which to build the whole first season around and to show us the underbelly of the French court. Furthermore, there’s no concrete evidence that Catherine betrayed the specific courtiers she did or that she used magic (or that magic is real). “I felt we’re free to invent, hypothesize, to create an alternative history,” Serpent Queen showrunner Justin Haythe told Decider back in 2022.
So while The Serpent Queen is based on a true story, be sure to take the details with a grain of salt.
We already know that The Serpent Queen Season 2 will likely deal with Catherine’s second regency. After the untimely death of her eldest surviving son, Francis II, younger boy Charles IX takes the throne. Francis’s wife, Mary, Queen of Scots, returns to Scotland, leaving Catherine now to deal with enemies like the Guise brothers and Bourbons.
“These were the very male powers that be, even though here there are women running circles around them in certain ways, I think, these remain the powers that be,” Haythe told Decider in 2022. “And if you know your French history, you know that the house of Valois was replaced by the house of Bourbon and eventually led us to Marie Antoinette, so you know where it’s going.”
Haythe also wouldn’t confirm or deny that we might see a certain fortune teller named Nostradamus arrive on the scene, though if he did, “he’d have to compete with Ruggieri.”
“Nostradamus was more of a celebrity and apparently Nostradamus had, if I’m reading my history right, had a pretty unhealthy interest in young men and he’s a complicated guy,” Haythe said. “He didn’t reside in the court for any amount of time, but [Catherine] had a fascination with him because I believe like her, she believed she could see the future and was very interested in anybody else who could. And so I like the idea of Nostradamus crossing her path.”
On March 6, 2024, Starz announced ten new cast members for The Serpent Queen Season 2, in a move that also tacitly confirmed a time jump for the characters, including the recast Charles IX and Rahima: Minnie Driver as Elizabeth I, Angus Imrie as Henry IV (the future Bourbon king), Emma McDonald as the new Rahima, Stanley Morgan as Anjou (Catherine’s younger son and the future Henry III), Philippine Velge as Margot (Catherine’s eldest daughter), Rosalie Craig as Jeanne d’Albret (Henry IV’s mother), Isobel Jesper Jones as Edith (a Protestant preacher), Bill Milner as King Charles IX, Ashley Thomas as Alessandro de Medici, and Alexandre Willaume as Montmorency. Alas, no Nostradamus. (Not yet, at least.)
All we know for sure right now is The Serpent Queen Season 2 will premiere in 2024. Given that Starz is about to launch Mary & George on Friday, April 5 and Outlander Season 7 Part 2 in November, we’d guess that The Serpent Queen Season 2 is going to be a summer or early fall release.