Fresh off of passing on a number of buzzworthy prospective pilots (including a spinoff of The L Word and a pilot written and directed by Tim Robbins), Showtime has announced it will renew historical drama series The Tudors for a fourth and final season, according to Variety. The 10-episode season will debut in the spring of 2010. Series creator and executive producer Michael Hirst will also be back to write each episode, which will conclude the saga of King Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and chronicle his final two marriages and subsequent mental instability. The Tudors is one of the network’s top-rated series, with the third season’s April 5 premiere netting a cumulative total of 1.3 million viewers.
Apr 13
2009
07:39 PM ET
'The Tudors': Showtime renews drama for a fourth season
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it’s a shame we only have this and one more season but i trust that it will be done right and finished elegantly. jonathon rhys meyers is awesome as the king and his ability to be jerk to lover in a few seconds is shown clearly yet at the same time heartbreakingly honest. i have really enjoyed it thus far and understand why it must end, after all the 5fth marriage is the season finale. anyway, what is up with showtime? are they trying to go in a new direction or are they just bankrupt? they haven’t renewed much and ignore every pilot that comes their way! what gives?
Now that Showtime has an end date for The Tudors, can someone over there start planning the spin-off- The Habsburgs? Because THAT was an awesome crazy dynasty.
I was hoping they would continue with Henry’s children, there is some great stuff there with Edward, Jane Grey, Mary I and Elizabeth. The kidnapping attempts, stealing of the throne, imprisonment in the Tower and of course multitude of stake burnings. And if that doesn’t get your goat there’s Elizabeth’s temptation by Thomas Seymour and of course the infamous Robin Dudley. What more could they want????? This is after all The Tudors, so aren’t the children still considered a continuation????
funny plot I wish they would play with…Lady Jane Grey, the woman who was only Queen for 9 days, was actually the granddaughter of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. She was heir to the throne through his marriage to Mary Tudor, and was killed by Mary (Henry daughter)…just loved that little ironic plot twist….
I wonder how they are going to handle Henry’s weight gain. After that leg injury, he started to gain a lot of weight and became severly obese.
Yay! One more season feels right. The show started with Henry and should end with him. Thank goodness Showtime feels the same way!
I agree with previous comments. I think they should continue with Edward to the time Elizabeth takes the throne.
To answer one question posed here: JRM wants nothing to do with a fat suit. So Henry won’t be gaining weight. Historically incorrect, but really, as sexy as this show is, its probably for the best!
The L Word spinoff scared the hell out of me. Kinda glad Showtime passed… still mad at Ilene Chaiken for not telling us who killed Jenny.
Glad it got the renewal and also advance notice for their ‘end’ season. I always prefer when shows have enough warning to properly tie up storylines and character arcs to satisfy the viewer (even though this is based on fact, I think it makes a difference).
if they were going to do 4 season I wish they would have prolonged ann boleyn story…it was all very rushed.
I LOVE this show, but at the same time I’m glad that they’re ending it with Henry. Not that there isn’t a ton left to tell, but if they went through the entire family, it’d take forever. Rhys Meyers is the “star,” and if they went through the whole dynasty, it’d end almost 60 years after his death. Also, if you’re very familiar with the history, they’ve kind of written themselves into a hole regarding Jane Grey and Mary Stuart. Jane is Charles Brandon and Mary Tudor’s granddaughter. Mary Stuart is Margaret Tudor and James Stuart’s granddaughter. Because they combined two of Henry’s sisters into one character (the “Mary” even though she was called “Margaret”), it’s hard to figure in Jane Grey and Mary Stuart. And let’s face it, Jane Grey and Mary Stuart are kind of essential figures if the series were to continue. So, best for them to end it where they have.
I can agree with cutting the Katherine Parr marriage storyline short, as it didn’t last long & there wasn’t much to tell since she was older, wiser & while there was scandal, it was ludacris & transparent. What surprises me is that they will spend so little of the season on one of the biggest scandals, Catherine Howard…so young, so manipulated & manipulative, and she got the brunt of Henry’s corpulence & illness…Anne Boleyn died because the personality that won Henry over eventually repelled him. Cahtherine Howard died because she had the guts to embarass the King of England with the honesty of a child…hot stuff…and if that doesn’t warrant a season more that Joss Stone, I don’t know what does…but she’s a big UK name, so they went that way…will be sad when it’s all over – THANK GOD FOR DVD SETS!!!
Actually the real spin-off that I need from the Tudors is one starring the delicious Henry Cavill! So far in Season 3, he hasn’t done much except look fabulous as a knight in shining armor, but I’ll watch him in anything (or nothing!
Because the show is called “The Tudors” and not “Henry VIII” that leaves it very open to other venues that they should really take. Wikipedia makes it sound like the kids were alot more interesting and drawn out. And I agree with Kelsey that they screwed up BAD with the Margaret/Mary thing. But it will be a good laugh watching them try to explain how Margaret and Charles had three kids who hang out in the background out court and whom their father just happens to choose to never ever ever acknowledge in public and private company;)
I love JRM. He’s the reason to watch the show, although overall it is very good. When he goes, I go
Jonathan made the right decision to end his portrayal of Henry after the fourth
season. After I have watched 20 episodes of this series I’m becoming skeptical of its effects on JRM’s role as a leading man from here on.
As he has said in an interview, that a leading man is one who can portray things which are good and endearing to his fans. And clearly the Tudors is not one of those.