There’s no shortage of fantasy TV shows these days, from the Game of Thrones sequel series House of the Dragon to expansive new epics like The Wheel of Time; it’s never been a better time to be a fantasy fan. Similarly, it’s never been a better time to be a lover of period drama television. The massively popular Bridgerton continues to break records and shows like The Gilded Age and Outlander add to the craze of corsets, romance, and a dash of history (a very light dash in Bridgerton‘s case). However, Prime Video’s newest fantasy series My Lady Jane blends the best of both words and sprinkles in the aesthetics of beloved films like The Princess Bride and A Knight’s Tale.

My Lady Jane tells the fictonalized story of Queen Jane Grey, an English monarch who is most famously known for only being queen for nine days before her trial and execution. However, in the series created by Emma Burgess, Jane (Emily Bader) now lives in a fantastical version of our world. Gone are the Catholics and Protestants, and what replaces them is Verity and Ethians. Ethians are humans who can turn into animals, while Verities do not have that ability. As Jane must navigate this complicated new world, she soon discovers her new husband Guildford (Edward Bluemel) is an Ethian himself, one who turns into a horse by day and is a man by night.

Back in December 2022, Collider joined a group of journalists in visiting the set of My Lady Jane in London. There we spoke not only with the showrunners and producers behind the series, including Burgess, Meredith Glynn, and director Jamie Babbit, but also with the talented cast and the creative minds behind this alternate universe England.

‘My Lady Jane’s Producers and Cast Pulled Direct Inspiration From Some Surprising Places

When speaking with the producers and cast about the series, one thing that was undeniable was that not only were they all passionate about the story, but they had a very clear creative vision for the story itself. Not only were they set on giving the story of Lady Jane Grey a more feminist retelling, but they were focused on a very practical look for the story, with a preference for practical effects rather than CGI.

The series is based on the book of the same name by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton. And creator Emma Burgess came upon the book just by happenstance. She saw a girl reading a book on the subway intently, saying, “I’m really nosy. Whenever someone reads a book, I just write it down and buy it without reading about it because I think I just want to, just want to have the experience that they’re having and that.” She fell in love with the novel after reading it, and the rest was history.

For inspiration, the creators and cast drew from several places:

The Princess Bride was a major influence, as director and executive producer Jamie Babbit points out, calling Rob Brydon their very own Wallace Shawn, and pointing out that the show is about being able to have fun with this historical tale like that movie did.
A Knight’s Tale is mentioned by Edward Bluemel as a major reference and credits Heath Ledger‘s performance as his inspiration for Guildford, saying, “Heath Ledger plays it like he’s playing Hamlet, like he doesn’t try and make a joke throughout the entire film. He just plays it like he is deadly serious. And then you’ve got the people around, that sort of make it hilarious and the situation and the jokes that are written in.”
The description that Bluemel got for Guildford when he auditioned was that the character is “a Tudor Harry Styles” and also draws costuming inspiration from Mick Jagger — which explains all the leather.
2005’s Pride and Prejudice was also a major reference, with Guildford being described in the script as a “Tudor Mr. Darcy.” Emily Bader herself credits her impeccable British accent (she’s American!) to Keira Knightley (and her dialect coach).
While Elizabeth Bennet is a strong reference for Lady Jane Grey, Bader also referenced the musical group Blondie as an influence with its “rock and roll femme fatale energy.”
Babbitt also pointed out that Jane has an element of Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to her. Regarding casting the lead, she said, “It was hard to find that special combination of someone who’s funny, someone who has the strength of a Buffy, because there’s also an element of this is just kind of like Buffy, who has a playfulness, who has a flawless British accent, and who has the strength and the intelligence that we needed from Jane.”
Jordan Peters, who plays King Edward VI, pulled inspiration from Matt Smith in his time as Prince Philip in The Crown.
Rob Brydon named British politician Jacob Rees-Mogg as a jumping-off for Dudley, calling Dudley someone who stays “infuriatingly calm and sort of oily.”
Kate O’Flynn and Dominic Cooper also referenced Blackadder as a touchpoint, though Cooper emphasized that it wasn’t exactly like Blackadder and trying to emulate it for this project would not work.

‘My Lady Jane’ Has Surprising Ties to ‘Bridgerton’ and Indiana Jones

It’s hard not to draw ties to Bridgerton when it comes to a historical romance series that has a bit of irreverence when it comes to favoring fantasy over accuracy. However, the two series share more in common than you might think, and the series calls back to some surprising films and TV shows.

The series also pulls a lot of inspiration from the Netflix series Bridgerton with Jamie Babbit stating that Shonda Rhimes “really showed that shows about women, and for women, have a huge audience.”
Bridgerton also helped pave the way for My Lady Jane casting a more diverse cast rather than just an all-white cast.
Then more directly, the series shares the same production designer as Bridgerton with Will Hughes-Jones, who is also known for his work on The Spanish Princess, The Alienist, The White Princess, Jane Eyre, and more. On working on My Lady Jane, Hughes-Jones said, “When you get employed, and they know that you’ve done something like Bridgerton, they expect you to do it again, only bigger and better.”
Emma Burgess also credits Everything Everywhere All at Once with being a massive inspiration for special effects, saying about the animal changes and magic scenes, “We wanted this to feel lo-fi and analog.”
In that same vein, Babbit also mentions that when it comes to the human shifting into animal, they also looked at What We Do in the Shadows. “We didn’t want princess magic,” Babbit explained. “It’s not that. It’s like What We Do in the Shadows, you just pan over, and now there’s an animal.”
And while it’s not a direct reference, the horse that plays Guildford was described quite a few times by cast and crew with Babbit calling the horse, “really macho, and he’s young, and he just neighs a lot, and he’s just feisty.” She added that the horse had a lot “muscle and attitude” and also happened to be Indiana Jones’ horse in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Going Off-Book Was Encouraged in ‘My Lady Jane’

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It was mentioned several times by the cast and creators that the actors were given room to improvise. Given the comedic tone of the series, some actors fell into it more willingly than others, with Rob Brydon being a repeated example of someone who took full advantage of that. And although the series is based on a book, the show hasn’t been afraid to go off-book, cutting what doesn’t work from the series to develop it for the modern audience.

Brydon said that he was excited about the fact that Gemma Burgess and Meredith Flynn were open to improvisation. “For me, it’s the best of both worlds, because I get to learn the script, and you do your best job as an actor to play it as they’ve written it. But then also on pretty much every take you can add the odd bit.”
Emily Bader and Edward Bluemel agreed that there was room for improv on set, and it was even encouraged. However, Bader said, “The writing is so funny, it’s like you don’t even really want to touch it.” With Bluemel adding, “That’s the thing. You do it and you’re like, ‘I just improvise something way worse than what was written’.”
Jordan Peters also complimented the series for allowing them to use their own creative license with the characters.
Meanwhile, Dominic Cooper and Kate O’Flynn talked about a more physical improv, and given the sexual relationship their characters share, it’s not a surprise.
Cooper, who had scenes with Brydon, said that improvising with him was like “hell on earth,” and saying, “He is like the best person in the world ever to do it. So you either can’t get a word in or he just looks at you like you’re a piece of crap when you do something that’s not very funny.”
O’Flynn pulled from different sources and cherry-picked what she felt would work best for this version of Mary Tudor, describing her character as a “powerful frayed nerve.”
When it comes to character, Emily Bader’s first impression of Lady Jane Grey, which she describes: “I think Jane is, in some ways, one of the dumbest smart people you’ll ever meet. And that she knows everything about people and the world. But she knows very little about what it means to be a person and to be a part of the world.”
Bluemel’s Guildford is not like his book counterpart in the way that he approaches poetry. In the book, the character is very much associated with some wild poems. But Bader was quick to add that, “Guildford’s poetry for Jane is just allowing them to have intellectual banter. That is a bouquet of red roses for her.”

Before Bluemel was cast, he did a Zoom call with Bader. After the meeting, Bluemel said, “It was when we talked that I was like, ‘Oh, now I really, really want this’.” Bader added, “We weirdly are just two sides of the same coin.”

Designing the Set of ‘My Lady Jane’ All Starts on (Digital) Paper First

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We got to visit the expansive sets that were built for this series, with production designer Will Hughes-Jones guiding us through each room alongside the series set decorator Gina Cromwell (Mary Queen of Scots, Downton Abbey, Bridgerton)and assistant set decorator Lou-Lilâ Masson-Lacroix. Hugh-Jones emphasized the importance of recycling sets and using them for multiple purposes for economic reasons and putting their focus on the exact designs needed for these massive sets.

Everything that is built has to be drawn first. From the details in the set to the busts in the castle, they were first drawn and then sculpted or 3D printed.
3D printing is often used to help conceptualize sets and ensure everything fits correctly. Guided by Hughes-Jones, we saw a miniature of the intricate vaulted ceilings of the set that was built as a mock-up, along with more models of the rest of the rooms and the structure of the set.
Hughes-Jones also emphasized the importance of creating a ceiling on a set to make it feel real, while sets often forego a ceiling.
They redesigned the interior of Hampton Court Palace on set, using the rooms for multiple characters. Guildford’s room is also Frances’ (Anna Chancellor) room; the convent is also Jane’s kitchen and parts of her house; the Ethian prison is also the hideout location for the Dudley family; the banquet hall is also a courtroom, a party room, and a throne room.
All of the sets were dressed by Cromwell and Masson-Lacroix. The rooms are filmed with tapestries that have all been made, with designs created by the graphics team. In total, Cromwell noted that they created 28 tapestries, one of the largest being 9 meters tall and 23 meters long.
The design of all the tapestries shows the diversity of the characters but also includes Ethians and animals to reflect the story of the time in the style of medieval woven tapestries.
After designing the art for the tapestry, it is printed and then the designers use a heat transfer to place the design onto the textile.

Every Detail Counts When it Comes to the ‘My Lady Jane’ Set

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From visiting castles across the country for inspiration to sourcing furniture from all over the world, when it comes to building a set based in Tudor England, every detail matters. While exploring the different bedrooms on set, Will Hughes-Jones and Cromwell pointed out what pieces of the set required building or painting from scratch and what came from already existing pieces that needed to be repainted or chopped up to fit the set.

When searching for locations for My Lady Jane, Hughes-Jones would look at 10 castles or houses and pick one that works for the story.
While looking at the locations, Cromwell plucked details from the locations, such as paneling details or window shapes or furniture.
Although it technically isn’t historically accurate for Jane to have so many books, Cromwell felt it was important to dress the set to express Jane’s character. Her room has a lot of drying herbs and equipment for distilling medicines.

Because the setting is from 500 years ago, Cromwell and her team had to source items for the set from various locations. Antique dealers in Europe who have Renaissance-style furniture and items were bought and then repurposed for the practicality of a film set.
Many pieces of furniture or items were purchased and either replicated or cut up and repurposed or gilded and refreshed to fit the period.
One aspect of the set that took the longest to create was the windows made from safety glass. According to Hughes-Jones, it took three painters working on them for about five weeks every day to complete them all.
Rugs were actually put on tables at this time in history, especially very fine ones made of silk brought in from Persia, so you will see rugs on top of the table in the series.
Rob Brydon complimented the lavish nature of the show, mentioning the large scale of the series and saying, “It’s more like working on a movie than working on a TV show.”
The stage used for the Swan Tavern is one of the most animal-used spaces due to the number of scenes where Ethians are a part of the scene according to Hughes-Jones, who said, “There’s probably been more time with animals in here than with people, because there’s a lot of scenes that have animals in this tavern, so the animal handlers have to get the animals used to it.”
The show was filming Episode 5, “I’m Gonna Change the World,” when we arrived on set, so we got to witness the opulence of the coronation banquet. The room was decorated with everything from boar’s heads to a cornucopia of fruit to a dolphin head. There was a functional wine fountain that pumps and sputters up red wine for the party guests. There’s even a minstrel’s gallery for minstrels to play their music.

Dressing the Royalty of Magical Tudor England

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The visit ended with a visit to the massive warehouse where the costuming department called home. There, series costume designer Stephanie Collie, known for her work on Argylle, Peaky Blinders, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and more, walked us through the countless costumes from the custom-made pieces for the main cast to the sourced costuming for the extras.

All the women’s costumes were made, with the costuming department making somewhere between 80–100 costumes.
For the specific episode of that day, Episode 5, director Stefan Schwartz wanted a Baz Luhrman-type aesthetic for the costuming of the coronation banquet, so the art department incorporated more gold and opulence into the party costumes and sets.
Every character’s costuming has an arc that the costume department works on with the directors and producers that helps tell the story as their arc progresses.
Collie talked about how Guildford’s look was meant to model after a Tudor rock star, and they had in mind people like Mick Jagger and Prince as a point of inspiration.
In another surprising connection, the ruff that Jane wears around her neck during the coronation banquet is actually borrowed from Shakespeare in Love.
Telling a story for the characters isn’t just about what they say or do; even the fabrics of the costumes play a part. Collie talked about how Jane and Katherine (Isabella Brownson) started with much simpler fabrics like linen and cotton, and then by the time Jane is in court her costume incorporates more silk and beaded fabrics. Meanwhile, for characters like Stan (Henry Ashton), his costume incorporates a lot of pinks and lilacs.
An original idea for the costuming for Ethians involved all the Ethian characters wearing something in their costume that might be related to the animal they can turn into. However, that idea did not end up being executed, since it might have given away who was an Ethian and who wasn’t.

It was fascinating to walk around the massive set of My Lady Jane where it felt like every room we stepped into was created with so much attention to detail and care. From the early designing phase down to the final set dressing, these spaces were not only built with filming in mind but also built to look real and functional. It felt like the people working on the series had a very strong impression of the story they wanted to tell, no matter how difficult the genre-bending story is to describe to someone who has no idea what you’re talking about. From the cast drawing inspiration and improvising on the fly to the creators passionately talking about how they wanted to highlight the intelligence and strength of the real historical Jane Grey, it felt like there was no stone left unturned.

The full season of My Lady Jane is now available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.