The six-part period drama reimagines the life of a young Elizabeth I in the court of Henry VIII

ITV has greenlit a Tudor period drama from director James Strong and three former Grey’s Anatomy showrunners.

Majesty, due to film next year, is created and written by Joan Rater, Tony Phelan and William Harper and will be produced by Strong Film and Television.

The six-part series will depict the life of a young Elizabeth I and her place in Henry VIII’s court, but reimagining her life based upon conspiracy theories that surrounded her as a youth.

Director Strong – whose recent credits include Mr Bates vs the Post Office – founded Strong Film and Television with Matt Tombs and Loretta Preece; the prodco is backed by StudioCanal. Polly Hill will oversee production of Majesty on behalf of ITV.

Most recently, Rater, Phelan and Harper collaborated on the eight-episode NatGeo/Disney+ limited drama series, A Small Light; Rater and Phelan also co-created and currently serve as executive producers on CBS’ hit Friday night drama Fire Country, which is currently in production on its third season, and its spin-off drama Sheriff Country.

Harper, Rater and Phelan said: “Majesty is an emotional, funny, and contemporary-feeling alternate history about how three outsiders try to stay alive while hiding a secret that, if discovered, would rock England to its foundations. Majesty allows us to have fun with history while illuminating who we are now. This show is pure wish-fulfilment of how people devoted to the public good suddenly find themselves in a position to make a difference.”

Strong added: “I could not be more thrilled to be bringing this audacious and original show to the screen. The brilliant scripts are a directors’ dream as we get to re-imagine and recreate an iconic piece of English history and tell a period story that looks stunning but also feels modern and relevant to todays’ viewer.”