Starz to follow White Queen with White Princess

Starz has greenlit The White Princess, a follow-up to its successful War of the Roses period drama The White Queen (pictured).

Like its forbear, The White Princess will be based on a Philippa Gregory novel set in the Tudor period, and be produced by All3Media backed producer Company Pictures.

The White Queen writer Emma Frost will pen the new show.

Premium cable net Starz classifies the eight-episode show as a limited series.

Playground Television is also involved, with its principal Colin Callender an exec producer.

The series tells the story of England’s War of the Roses from the perspective of the women involved, charting the rise of the House of Tudor.

“The White Queen was a phenomenal performer at Starz, averaging 4.8 million multiplatform viewers per episode in the United States,” said Carmi Zlotnik, managing director for the premium cable channel, which is exploring a merger with US compatriot Lionsgate Entertainment.

He added: “There is a dearth of programming that tells women’s stories and The White Queen was embraced with great success by audiences worldwide. The passionate fanbase for Philippa Gregory’s historical novels are undeniable and we are confident The White Princess will become the next must-see fandom drama series.”

The series, which went out on the BBC in the UK, was subsequently acquired by Amazon for its streaming service in the US.