See Michael Sheen as Prince Andrew In Prime Video’s ‘A Very Royal Scandal’
Prime Video has revealed a first look at its upcoming series A Very Royal Scandal, which premieres on the streamer on Sept. 19.
The three-episode series focuses on one of the worst moments in recent royal family memory – Prince Andrew’s disastrous November 2019 interview with the BBC about his association with financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The interview and the subsequent fallout effectively ended Andrew’s career a working royal. Emmy nominee Michael Sheen plays the prince. Ruth Wilson portrays interviewer Emily Maitlis.
Michael Sheen stars as Prince Andrew in ‘A Very Royal Scandal’
On August 13, Prime Video released new images showing Sheen’s transformation into Prince Andrew.
One photo shows the royal’s infamous tête-à-tête with Maitlis, where he discussed his controversial relationship with Epstein and his connection to Virginia Guiffre, who alleged that Epstein forced her to have sex with the royal when she was underage. (Andrew and Giuffre eventually reached an out-of-court settlement in a civil case stemming from her allegations. He admitted no guilt.) In other images, Andrew talks on the phone in a wood-paneled library, speaks at an event, and is mobbed by the press as he sits in an SUV.
In addition to Sheen and Wilson, A Very Royal Scandal stars Joanna Scanlan as the Duke of York’s private secretary Amanda Thirsk and Alex Jennings as Sir Edward Young, private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II. Éanna Hardwicke plays Stewart Maclean, the deputy editor of BBC’s Newsnight. Claire Rushbrook portrays Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. Maitlis is an executive producer of the miniseries.
A Very Royal Scandal is the third installment of Prime Video’s anthology series focused on infamous moments in U.K. history, after A Very English Scandal and A Very British Scandal. It “follows the action of Maitlis and Prince Andrew in the lead-up to the interview, the ground-breaking event itself, and the many questions left in its wake that would change their lives forever,” according to a synopsis from the streamer.
New series is the second dramatization of Prince Andrew’s downfall
A Very Royal Scandal comes to Prime Video a few months after the release of Netflix’s Scoop, which also told the story of Andrew’s Q&A with Maitlis. That movie starred Rufus Sewell as Andrew, Gillian Anderson as Maitlis, and Keeley Hawes as Thirsk. It also featured Billie Piper as Newsnight producer Sam McAlister, who was instrumental in negotiating with Andrew’s team and securing the interview. Scoop has been nominated for a 2024 Emmy in the Outstanding Television Movie category.
A Very Royal Scandal premieres Sept. 19 on Prime Video.
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