My Lady Jane Cast Talks Comedy Inspiration, Book Adaptation, and Historical Figures
My Lady Jane is a historical reimagining of the life of Lady Jane Grey. Adapted from the book by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, it asks the question: what if Jane Grey didn’t actually die? What if England were plagued by Ethians, or humans who could take animal form? Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado spoke to the creative team and actors behind the addicting new Prime Video series.
Creator Gemma Burgess discovered My Lady Jane in a surprising way. “I was on the subway in New York City about six years ago and I saw a girl reading a book like thisclose to her face. I always buy a book when someone's reading like that. I'm a reader and it was My Lady Jane,” she told me. “I knew nothing about it. I read it, fell completely in love, and had been obsessed with Lady Jane Grey when I was a teenager as was Meredith.”
The writing team of Burgess and Meredith Glynn had two very crucial things in common. “When we met we discovered two important things about one another,” shared Glynn. “The first is that we have the exact same sense of humor and the second is that we were both obsessed with Lady Jane Grey when we were 13 years old. She was so doomed and it was so romantic.”
The duo called out The Princess Bride, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Blackadder, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer as inspiration when it came to the series. “I had the Delaroche painting on my bedroom wall and I watched the Helena Bonham Carter, Cary Elwes movie. We were also both obsessed with movies from the 80s and the DNA runs through the show,” said Burgess. “These shows really inspired us constantly when making My Lady Jane.”
The cast knew right away the script was something special. “So many scripts are quite hard to read, but this one just flew off the page. It's so witty, it's tight, it's economical, and I love economy because that's a comics thing. How can I communicate this in fewer words?” Rob Brydon said. “So it's a really tight lean script, then you look at the character and you say, ‘Well, can I play this?’ I thought ‘Yes,’ but it was appealing because he had qualities that I don't often get to play.”
A crucial part of translating the wit from the book to the screen was bringing in that classic narrator. “The premise of the book is incredible, but the tone of voice is what makes everybody fall in love with it. Though you can show tone of voice through character and story and dialogue, we also really wanted a narrator,” said Burgess. “We didn't want a narrator who tells you what's happening. We didn't want a narrator who turns out to be like Dan from Gossip Girl. We call him the author and he's this snarky, bitchy Oxford don, like a professor at Oxford, who might also be a god.”
Burgess continued: “Just us and the story, commenting rightly on it. Hopefully in the same way that the audience will be. So the idea with the author is that he can ground the more fantastical elements, he can explain things, and he gives the audience permission to come into the story and laugh at the characters with him.”
With the rise on historical fan fiction, so to speak, with projects like My Lady Jane, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, Six, and Hamilton, it makes you wonder who could be next. “Maybe Cleopatra,” said Glynn, with Máiréad Tyers adding: “I think women who would have been mistreated or their ability and power weren't recognized in their time. Women who were rebellious and then didn't get like their flowers for being a soldier, who didn't get to have their moment of glory, which is what My Lady Jane is about.”
“What about re-telling Elvis’s life, but he doesn’t put on weight and die?” chimed in Brydon. “He flourishes and does wonderfully well and ends up running a wellness treat.”
My Lady Jane is streaming on Prime Video.
