Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Blood, Sex & Royalty’ on Netflix, A Weird Historical Documentary With Graphic, Cheeky Reenactments

Netflix’s new series Blood, Sex & Royalty is billed as a docuseries, but it’s actually just a dramatization of the life of Anne Boleyn, broken up with the occasional expert who provides historical context for the story that’s playing out. The tone is all over the place, the writing isn’t great, and it skimps on the blood and sex that the title promises. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln…

BLOOD, SEX & ROYALTY: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A handsome young version of Henry VIII gives Anne Boleyn a seductive look and asks, “May I?” before picking her up and laying her on a table.

The Gist: This is the story of Anne Boleyn, the woman who would spend her teen years as a lady in waiting within the royal courts of France and England, get married to Henry VIII, and face execution for treason in 1536. This three-part docuseries/dramatization/modernization of her tale examines her rise to prominence using about a thousand different plot devices, the first of which is the “looking back on the past” gambit. It’s 1536, and Anne is imprisoned in the Tower of London, where she gives testimony about her life and crimes. That dramatization is mixed with actual experts and historians who provide factual information and background about Anne’s life. And that too is woven into reenactments of Anne’s younger days, moments that have a light, energetic tone as Anne breaks the fourth wall to make sly remarks to us and add some color to the story. (When the camera introduces us to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, one of Henry VIII’s trusted religious advisers, Anne turns to us to refer to Wolsey as Henry’s “work wife.”) Sometimes it’s clever, but mostly it just makes me wonder what tone this show is trying to strike, there is just so much going on.

It’s clear the show is trying to be a winky, clever dramatization that tells Anne’s story through a modern, feminist lens, emphasizing Anne’s outspoken, educated views on religious reform and marriage, told by Anne herself. But the tone tends to shift a little when we cut to the experts who offer real explanations and background information about life in the Tudor age. It makes you wonder if they know what they signed up for.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? While the subject matter of Blood, Sex & Royalty features the same major players as The Tudors, tonally it leans into shows like The Great and Dangerous Liaisons, taking a historical era and making it a little more modern and/or sexy, only the story is broken up with real people adding historical context.

Our Take: The story if Anne Boleyn hardly needs any embellishment or clever narrative devices, it’s already fascinating as is.

The fact that the series interrupts all the drama that it sets up with talking head interviews means that the tension is broken throughout. Imagine if you’re watching House of the Dragon and Alicent has just taken off her shoes, and you cut away to an expert explaining, “Larys’s foot fetish was the talk of the Red Keep.” (I mean, I know House of the Dragon‘s not based in fact, but both shows have lots of jousting and scheming queens.) Netflix’s description of the show is “Saucy anachronisms and historical accuracy coexist in this docudrama where experts and reenactments explore the juicy stories of royals from eras past.” I guess my problem is that the saucy anachronisms and historical accuracy just don’t coexist peacefully.

While I appreciate that the show makes Anne Boleyn a principled, modern woman who knows her worth, her life is too rich for the anachronisms this show offers. Either be the fictionalized show with the hip-hop music cues and the 21st century dialogue, or the docuseries that gives Anne the “You’re Wrong About” treatment, or the more accurate but less sexy knockoff of The Tudors, but don’t try to be all of them.

Sex and Skin: The show often mentions the lewd, lascivious behavior that permeates the royal courts of Europe in the 1500s. While there are a few naked bodies, mostly boobs, in an early scene, there’s nothing more than that, which seems surprising for a show with “sex” in its name.

Parting Shot: Anne, having been asked by Henry to be his mistress, rejects him. She wants to be his wife, to be queen (even though he’s currently married to Catherine of Aragon), and when she sends him away telling him that his request is insulting, her father chastises her, asking her, “What have you done?” We all know Anne’s story doesn’t end there, this moment just sets up the fact that Anne, never one to compromise her principles, is holding out for the bigger title.

Most Pilot-y Line: “King Francis: Ruler of France, patron of the arts, and banging my sister,” Anne says, introducing the audience to the French king whose court she once belonged to. Anne is breaking the fourth wall here, and the music in the background is “Buss It,” rap song from 2021. All of that perfectly encapsulates the show you’re getting.

Our Call: SKIP IT. This series needed to pick a lane and stick with it.

Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.