Sometimes a piece of media comes along that looks innocuous at first – silly, even unworthy of my time – but that turns out to mean more to me than I could have possibly known. “My Lady Jane” is that piece of media. 

The premise of “My Lady Jane” stems from two of my favorite places: a book (always better when turned into a series rather than a movie), and a historical event. “My Lady Jane” chronicles the reimagined days that lead up to Lady Jane Grey’s brief stint as Queen of England after her cousin Edward’s death. In real life, Jane, along with her husband Guildord Dudley, was executed for treason on February 12, 1554. My Lady Jane takes a different approach.

The series poses the questions: What if Jane hadn’t died? And what if magical shape shifting people called Ethians existed in place of Catholics?

I love a good metaphor, so when I realized that the Ethians (shape shifting people) and Verity (normal people) were fantasy versions of Catholics and Protestants, I became even more engrossed in the series. 

With this fantastic 16th century backdrop, “My Lady Jane” introduces the audience to the loveable, formidable, intelligent Jane Grey. Jane’s father has just died and she is being forced to marry Lord Guilford Dudley, much to her constant anger and disappointment. A chance meeting in a bar one night draws Jane and Guilford closer together until the fateful day of their wedding. What follows is a classic will-they-won’t-they as Jane and Guilford try to navigate the pitfalls of marriage when your husband is a horse half the time and you are apparently the new Queen of England. 

While the (eventual) love story between Jane and Guilford is sickeningly adorable and frustrating at times (just kiss please), the supporting cast of characters is what truly made me fall in love with this show.

The majority of the cast belong to three major families: the Grey’s, the Dudley’s, and the Tudor’s. There is much overlap, and it’s the aristocracy of 16th century England, so of course everyone’s related. Everyone has a crazy, violent sister; or a dumb, overconfident son; or a domineering parent hellbent on controlling their child’s life; or a best friend (or lover) who turns out to be Ethian.

The rich landscape of character’s only serves to better the story, to make the plots even wackier, and to make the culmination that much more satisfying. 

Sadly, “My Lady Jane” was canceled by Amazon after only being out for two months. “My Lady Jane” became the most recent in a long line of television casualties of the increasingly faster consumer age, and with it left a wonderful show where women have agency, people of color play historical roles, and a queer relationship blossoms naturally on screen.