What to know about the new Starz series Mary and George and how to stream the show

Starz is about to unveil its latest steamy historical drama in Mary and George! Here's what to know about the new drama and how you can watch it!

Starz has carved out a niche over the last several years with historical dramas, many of which are pretty wild and daring. That includes the smash hit Outlander as well as Spartacus, The White Queen and more. Now Mary and George can be added to that list. 

The series (which aired on Sky Atlantic in the U.K. earlier this year) was created by D.C. Moore and based on Benjamin Woolley's 2017 book The King's Assassin. It tells the true story of the affair between King James I and George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, in the mid-17th century. 

The show looks to put the usual Starz spin on the affair as it could be a staid telling, but instead gets some wicked black comedy and a whole lot of adult situations. The show has the plot that George is a rather naive man pushed by his mother, Mary, the Countess of Buckingham, who wants power for herself but is unable to gain it as a woman in the 17th century. She thus plans to use her son to seduce the king and raise their social standing.

As it happens, Mary isn't alone, as practically every noble family in England wants to suck up to James, and George is just one of the men and women trying to win his favor. As Mary and George navigate this cutthroat world, Mary has to worry her son is violating the key rule of a con artist: Never fall in love for real with your mark, especially when he's a King. 

With its fantastic production values, stellar cast, and outrageous true story, this looks to be the next must-watch Starz show. 

Who stars in Mary & George?

The big gun of the cast is Julianne Moore as Mary. The Oscar-winning veteran is perfect as this woman who came up from nothing and will do anything not to go back to that. Seeing her handle the ins and outs of high society amid her games should be worth the price of watching this show by itself. 

She's backed by a great cast with Nicholas Galitzine as George. The actor's been doing great with Red, White & Royal Blue and Bottoms as he appears ready to boost his profile more. Then there's Tony Curran as the veteran British actor looks to be having a ball as the wild James, who's more concerned about his next party than a possible Civil War consuming England. 

The rest of the cast is made up of some great British character actors such as Nicola Walker, Sir Simon Russell Beane, Kate Fleetwood, and Joseph Mawle as Walter Raleigh. That should be just the thing for those who love a great period piece. 

• Julianne Moore as Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham
• Nicholas Galitzine as George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
• Tony Curran as James VI and I
• Laurie Davidson as Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset
• Sean Gilder as Sir Thomas Compton
• Mark O'Halloran as Francis Bacon
• Pearl Chanda as Frances Carr
• Trine Dyrholm as Queen Anne
• Simon Russell Beale as George Villiers
• Niamh Algar as Sandie
• Adrian Rawlins as Edward Coke
• Samuel Blenkin as Charles I of England
• Amelia Gething as Frances Coke, Viscountess Purbeck
• Nicola Walker as Elizabeth Hatton
• Kate Fleetwood as Cunning Mary
• Mirren Mack as Katherine Villiers, Duchess of Buckingham
• Unax Ugalde as Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, Count of Gondomar
• Joseph Mawle as Sir Walter Raleigh

When and where can you watch the Starz drama

The seven-episode limited series premieres Friday, April 5 at 9/8c on Starz. If you don't have the channel rolled into your cable plan, you can subscribe to its streaming platform to watch the show. The basic plan is $9.99/month. Expect reruns on the various Starz stations and new episodes each Friday, with the series finale on May 17. 

The show already got great reviews in its run in the U.K. so it looks ready to become another entry in Starz's great library of sexy historical dramas. Thus, mark Mary & George as a new must-see spin on history.