---
title: "The Tudors"
year: 2007
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/the-tudors"
fi1m_id: "the-tudors"
imdb_id: "tt0758790"
tmdb_id: 2942
wikidata_id: "Q326731"
fi1m_score: 65
critics_score: 64
critics_reviews: 6
published: "2026-09-23T11:52:52.140328+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-23T11:53:07.999959+00:00"
region: "SE"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Tudors (2007)

Created by Michael Hirst · 55m · Statens medieråd Från 15 år · Drama, Romance

## Identity

The Tudors

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/the-tudors
- **Type:** Series
- **Fi1m ID:** the-tudors
- **IMDb ID:** tt0758790
- **TMDB ID:** 2942
- **Wikidata ID:** Q326731
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758790/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/2942, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q326731

**Fi1m score: 65** · Critics 64 from 6 reviews

*In a sentence:* We would happily postpone the royal bed-hopping for another scene with Maria Doyle Kennedy

> *The Tudors* makes diverting royal soap, helped by Maria Doyle Kennedy and a persuasive sense of courtly wealth. Its impatient king and wandering pace make it harder to recommend as serious historical drama.

## Synopsis

At the English court during the early reign of Henry VIII of England (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), the king’s desires keep intruding on the business of government. He wants freedom to pursue his appetites, while his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (Maria Doyle Kennedy) presents a problem he cannot settle by himself. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (Sam Neill) is among those caught up in the court’s political manoeuvring, with Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer) also part of the royal circle. Bedroom encounters and court discussions run alongside one another as the prospect of divorce gives the king’s private dissatisfaction public consequences.

## Review

Michael Hirst’s *The Tudors* is watchable royal melodrama with a disappointingly narrow idea of its king. It approaches the early reign of Henry VIII of England through appetite, marriage and the people obliged to deal with the consequences. That is a workable way into court politics, particularly when desire can make trouble for everyone nearby. The difficulty is that the series keeps returning to the same explanation for its ruler’s behaviour: he wants something and resents being denied it. The supporting cast gives us good reason to keep watching.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers supplies the impatience readily enough, and his energy suits a drama determined to avoid solemn historical pageantry. We can understand the attraction of a king who behaves badly without pausing to justify himself. But the performance offers too little variation in that wilfulness, and the writing does not give him enough competing impulses to make him difficult to predict. After a while, another royal demand does little to sharpen our understanding. The political discussion has to work around a ruler whose reactions have become familiar.

We felt for Maria Doyle Kennedy’s Catherine of Aragon because she makes the hurt within the marriage matter amid all the manoeuvring. Her performance gives the prospect of divorce a human cost that the series otherwise risks treating as a complication to be managed. She also gives us someone worth listening to when the royal appetites have become tiresome. Sam Neill’s Cardinal Thomas Wolsey brings welcome composure to the surrounding politics. Both performances allow thought to register without requiring another explanation of what everyone wants.

The court is persuasive as a place where people enjoy having money and position. Tom Conroy’s production design supplies the wealth, while Joan Bergin’s costumes make the effort of presenting oneself for inspection seem part of daily life. Ousama Rawi’s cinematography helps sustain that sense of display, though the murk around the sex scenes is less useful. Those passages can feel oddly dutiful for a programme so keen to seem uninhibited. We are given plenty of intimacy without consistently learning much about the people involved.

The writing is frequently too helpful about its intrigues, spelling out tensions before the actors have much chance to establish them. Michael Hirst gives the court enough competing interests to sustain curiosity, but the early signposting makes some exchanges feel like preparation for the next exchange. The attention to historical detail is welcome, even when the drama takes liberties. We need not demand a lesson from every costume drama. We can still expect a clearer sense of why these particular people matter to one another.

Editors Wendy Hallam Martin and Lisa Grootenboer face a difficult balance between private encounters and public business, and the pace sometimes drifts despite all the activity. The programme can be busy without feeling as though it has moved far. Trevor Morris’s music supplies some of the gravity missing from the king’s characterisation. There is still dependable pleasure in watching capable performers negotiate this court. The problem is the time spent waiting for the next exchange with someone as interesting as Catherine of Aragon.

Historical television can take pleasure in bad behaviour without turning every conversation into a lesson. This series belongs with the court melodramas, and its appeal depends on how much time we want to spend with privileged people pursuing their appetites. A stronger account of the politics would have made their decisions more interesting to follow. Try it if court gossip is enough to carry an evening; expect to exercise some patience whenever the king takes charge.

*Fi1m score 65, published 23 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics find The Tudors watchable and diverting, though enthusiasm is qualified rather than wholehearted. Praise centres on the scale and opulence of the production, with Henry’s appetites and court manoeuvring generally proving more rewarding than the attempts at action or suspense. The more favourable reviews enjoy its mixture of sex and politics, while finding enough period detail and humour to sustain the entertainment.

Reservations cluster around loose pacing, uneven casting and a lack of depth beneath the court spectacle. The reviews disagree over whether the sexual emphasis supplies energy or merely chases attention, and historical detail earns praise even as liberties attract criticism. The AV Club finds Jonathan Rhys Meyers’s Henry petulant rather than complex. The Times is markedly cooler than the rest, finding the opening episode dull and its intrigue ineffective, though it credits Maria Doyle Kennedy’s Catherine of Aragon with bringing humanity.

## Straight answers

**Is The Tudors worth watching?**

*The Tudors* is worth trying if court gossip and royal romance are enough to carry an evening; we score it 65 out of 100. Maria Doyle Kennedy’s Catherine of Aragon and the persuasive courtly wealth keep it watchable, but the repetitive characterisation of Henry and drifting pace make it harder to recommend as serious historical drama.

**How long is The Tudors, and what is it rated?**

*The Tudors* has episodes of about 55m and is rated Från 15 år by the Statens medieråd in Sweden. It is a drama and romance series.

**Where can I watch The Tudors in Sweden?**

*The Tudors* is streaming on Netflix in Sweden. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is The Tudors, and is it suitable for children?**

*The Tudors* has a UK 15 certificate and contains sex scenes, making it unsuitable for children under 15. The bedroom encounters make this adult court melodrama rather than family historical viewing; we cannot give a more specific warning about violence or frightening material from the content described in our review.

**How does The Tudors compare to The Favourite?**

*The Tudors* offers sprawling royal soap, while [*The Favourite*](https://film.one/film/the-favourite) is the stronger choice for vicious court comedy and close attention to the women manoeuvring for position. We find the king’s repetitive wilfulness limits the series; the film makes royal rivalry funny and uncomfortable through three rewarding central performances, though its camera sometimes works too hard.

**What should I watch after The Tudors?**

After *The Tudors*, try [*The Favourite*](https://film.one/film/the-favourite) (2018, Fi1m 87): Courtly ambition becomes vicious comedy, with close attention to the women doing the manoeuvring. Then [*The Lion in Winter*](https://film.one/film/the-lion-in-winter) (1968, Fi1m 81): A royal family turns succession planning into an extended exercise in mutual cruelty.

### Reviews we read (6)

- **The Hollywood Reporter** (75/100, inferred): A lavish 10-part drama that is a feast for the eyes with stellar performances, a historically authentic aura and a solid, dependably entertaining quality. The focus on Henry’s passions and court intrigue succeeds more than any action or suspense elements. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/tudors-158077/)
- **Variety**, Brian Lowry (70/100, inferred): A big, bold, opulent gamble that is watchable and diverting though not the great series it might have been, lustily combining bodice-ripping with medieval geopolitics. Uneven casting and occasional meandering temper enthusiasm, but the international appeal justifies the risk. [Read](https://variety.com/2007/tv/reviews/the-tudors-4-1200509445/)
- **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias (C+): The series is a capable but unremarkable soap opera retelling of Henry VIII's early reign and divorce from Catherine of Aragon, lacking a compelling point of view compared to HBO's Rome. Jonathan Rhys Meyers portrays the king as a petulant, willful man-child focused on his appetites rather than a complex figure. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-tudors-the-complete-first-season-1798203570)
- **Empire** (60/100, inferred): The results are mixed, with early episodes feeling heavily signposted but later ones improving and showing strength for historical detail. The attempts to sex things up feel like ratings-grabbing rather than appropriate. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/tudors-review/)
- **The Times**, Andrew Billen (49/100, inferred): The series is a shameless bonk fest that turns Henry VIII into a yobbo, but the first episode proves much duller than expected. The sex scenes are poorly lit and the political intrigue fails to intrigue, though Maria Doyle Kennedy as Catherine of Aragon brings some humanity. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/weekend-tv-gs20wd53g3g)
- **Paste**, Jeffrey Bloomer (70/100, inferred): The second season remains a gaudy window into Henry VIII's reign, overrun with crude intrigue and exuberant sex. It has real scale and a wry sense of the past and future despite loose pacing and historical liberties. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-tudors-the-complete-second-season)

## Details

- **Created by:** Michael Hirst
- **Creator:** Michael Hirst
- **Director:** Ciarán Donnelly, Jeremy Podeswa, Dearbhla Walsh, Steve Shill, Alison Maclean, Jon Amiel, Colm McCarthy, Charles McDougall, Brian Kirk
- **Writer:** Michael Hirst
- **Cinematography:** Ousama Rawi
- **Editor:** Wendy Hallam Martin, Lisa Grootenboer
- **Music:** Trevor Morris
- **Production design:** Tom Conroy
- **Costume design:** Joan Bergin
- **Producer:** John Weber, Bob Munroe, James Flynn
- **Cast:** David Alpay as Mark Smeaton; Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII of England; Perdita Weeks as Mary Boleyn; Sam Neill as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey; Callum Blue as Anthony Knivert; Henry Cavill as Charles Brandon; James Frain as Thomas Cromwell; Henry Czerny as Duke of Norfolk
- **Runtime:** 55m
- **Certificate (Statens medieråd):** Från 15 år
- **Release (Sweden):** 1 April 2007
- **Genres:** Drama, Romance

## Where to watch in Sweden

- Netflix: streaming

*Checked 2026-09-23.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Wolf Hall* (2015): For court politics whose smallest courtesies can carry a serious threat.
- *Queen Margot* (1994): Another royal marriage caught between religious conflict, sexual attraction and family calculation.
- *The Favourite* (2018), Fi1m 87: Courtly ambition becomes vicious comedy, with close attention to the women doing the manoeuvring. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-favourite.md)
- *The Lion in Winter* (1968), Fi1m 81: A royal family turns succession planning into an extended exercise in mutual cruelty. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-lion-in-winter.md)
- *The Banquet* (2006): Palace rivalry and forbidden desire unfold through formal spectacle and carefully staged violence.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/the-tudors