E!’s new original series The Royals hasn’t even aired yet, but we’re already obsessed with it. Here are the top five reasons you should be too – and we know you will be when it premieres March 15.
5. History in the Making
E! is first and foremost known as the home of the Kardashians and red carpet interviews, so it’s a pretty bold move to switch from reality to scripted TV. The Royals will be their first original scripted show, so by tuning in, you’re basically taking part in history. It was also already renewed for a second season back in January. A show has to be pretty amazing if it gets renewed two months before it even airs. Just saying.
4. Killer Storyline
The promos for the new show may make it seem like it’s just a bunch of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, but there’s actually some crazy storylines to accompany all of the “anarchy in the monarchy.” The details have been kept mostly under wraps, but we do know that the show begins with the death of the King and Queen’s oldest son and heir to the throne, taking Prince Liam, the fictional (and better-looking) version of Prince Harry, from “spare to heir.” Our guess is that there will be much more plotting and scheming a la Gossip Girl than the promos let on.
3. Royal Fashion
Think the couture of the real-life royal family meets the glam stylings ofGossip Girl, and you’ve got The Royals. From Vera Wang to Alexander McQueen, head costume designer Rachel Walsh has all of the royal bases covered. She calls it "a mixture of cutting-edge contemporary for the younger characters, classic elegance for the older.”
2. Perfect Casting
Where do we even begin on how perfect the casting for The Royals is? Elizabeth Hurley is basically a queen in real life, and The Royals creator, Mark Schwann, has even stated that she was born to play the role of Queen Helena. As her roles in Bedazzled and Gossip Girl have shown, Hurley is the perfect combination of fierce and classy – just the way a true queen should be.
Then there’s Alexandra Park, who plays Princess Eleanor, and who just so happens to look like she could be Hurley’s real-life daughter. Seriously, can we get a side-by-side comparison of the two in their twenties?
To make things even more perfect, Joan Collins, whose character in the 80s show Dynasty served as the style inspiration for Queen Helena, plays the Grand Duchess of Oxfordshire, aka Queen Helena’s mother. It’s the perfect “mother-daughter-granddaughter casting trifecta,” as brilliantly described by E!.
1. Crazy Promotion
The promotion for The Royals has been every bit as controversial as the show itself. “D-Throned,” a fictional online blog, was created to showcase the outrageous stunts pulled to promote the new show. The shenanigans started as far back as December, when Queen Helena made a speech addressing the fictional royal family’s antics – on the very same day that Queen Elizabeth II made her Christmas speech.
Then, around Valentine’s Day, rumors swirled that Prince Liam (William Moseley) was now on Tinder. The whole thing turned out to be a hoax (because duh, Prince Liam is fictional), but it did create a significant amount of buzz around the show (and Tinder probably gained a few more users).
But nothing compares to The Royals’ latest promotional stunt. A video of a naked man climbing out of a window at Buckingham Palace went viral on March 1st, and the Internet went absolutely nuts. Many news sites reported it, only to later find out that it was all a big ruse created to promote E!’s new show.
Now that’s how you get people talking (and hopefully watching – we will be)!
(photo via MingleMediaTV, cc)
