'The White Princess' Is A Limited Series Worth Your Time

You might think that if you’ve seen one period drama, you’ve seen them all, but Starz is releasing a must-see series, The White Princess, that is all about the women and less about the royal men who loved women. The show premieres on April 16, but how many episodes is The White Princess total? Since it’s technically a limited series, there potentially won’t be a second season, which means fans should savor each and every episode. Either way, though, the show has eight episodes total to tell the story of Elizabeth of York, the eventual mother to Henry VIII, and her rise to power as the young wife of Henry VII.

Before The White Princess came The White Queen on BBC One and this new eight-episode miniseries follows the continuation of that story. Princess Elizabeth is the daughter of the White Queen from the previous miniseries and The White Princess follows her marriage to Henry Tudor as rumors begin to circulate than her long-thought to be dead brother, Prince Richard, is alive and ready to take over the throne. But instead of the miniseries being about men at war, The White Princess will follow Elizabeth’s own part in everything and how she, as a rising queen, dealt with the throne, while also figuring out how to show allegiance to her own blood relative. Though it contains notes of historic facts and real life people, The White Princess is based on Philippa Gregory’s novel of the same name.

Even though the Starz limited series spans just eight episodes, Harper’s Bazaar has given the show some major support, calling The White Princess “the feminist answer to Game of Thrones.” That’s a pretty strong claim, sure, and Game of Thrones is no stranger to its own strong female characters, but where The White Princess is concerned, it seems like it’s mostly made up of strong female leads who are meant to be the driving forces of the miniseries.

Much like The Tudors, The White Queen, and even The CW’s Reign, The White Princess will follow a generally historical map with its own creative bits added in, meant to mirror the novel on which the miniseries is based. But that won’t make it seem any less authentic. In real life, Elizabeth's brother, Prince Richard, was believed to be killed by their uncle and when a man came forward who claimed to be him, that claim was never really proven true.

In this series, there is a lot of emphasis put on the idea that Elizabeth's brother is alive and her struggle to honor her bloodline while also supporting her husband are big parts of the story. Personally, I can't wait to see how it will all unfold.

The White Princess premieres on April 16 at 8 p.m. ET.