# Elizabeth I (2005 TV series)

Elizabeth I is a two-part 2005 British-American historical drama television serial directed by Tom Hooper, written by Nigel Williams, and starring Helen Mirren as Elizabeth I of England. The drama covers approximately the last 24 years of her nearly 45-year reign. Part 1 focuses on the final years of her relationship with the Earl of Leicester, played by Jeremy Irons. Part 2 focuses on her subsequent relationship with the Earl of Essex, played by Hugh Dancy.
The series originally was broadcast in the United Kingdom in two two-hour segments on Channel 4. It later aired on HBO in the United States, CBC and TMN in Canada, ATV in Hong Kong, ABC in Australia, and TVNZ Television One in New Zealand.
The series went on to win Emmy, Peabody, and Golden Globe Awards.

## Plot
### Part 1

In 1579, Elizabeth I refuses to marry. Chief advisor Lord Burghley and spymaster Francis Walsingham plan to have her wed the Duke of Anjou, which would cement an English-French alliance against Spain. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's favorite, the Earl of Leicester, opposes the match due to his affection for her.
Upon arriving in England, the Duke meets and courts Elizabeth, gaining her favour. She angrily banishes Leicester from court when she learns he is married and decides not to marry the Duke due to negative popular opinion towards the match.
Seven years later, Elizabeth welcomes Leicester back. Walsingham gathers evidence to prove that Elizabeth's Catholic cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, is plotting to have her killed. Elizabeth is reluctant to have Mary executed because of the war it might ignite between England and Spain. During a secret meeting at her prison, Mary gives Elizabeth her word that she does not want her dead.
Elizabeth hesitantly gives Leicester command of the English campaign to assist the Dutch against Spain, which fails and gives Spain control of Holland. Once it is proven Mary has, in fact, been conspiring against Elizabeth's life, Mary is judged guilty of treason and executed.
After negotiations between England and Spain fail, a fleet of Spanish ships are sent for England. Elizabeth gives Leicester command of the land forces and rides with him and his stepson, the Earl of Essex, to Tilbury, where they expect the Spanish to attempt a landing and where Elizabeth delivers a speech to the troops.
The Spanish Armada is ultimately defeated, but Leicester falls gravely ill as they learn of the English victory. On his deathbed, Leicester bids Essex to take care of Elizabeth.

### Part 2

By 1589, Elizabeth has fallen in love with Essex, who is now her favourite. When Essex takes part in a military expedition to Lisbon against her wishes, she is openly outraged but forgives him in spite of his failure to take the city from the Spanish. She grants him ten percent of a tax on sweet wines and a seat on the Privy Council, of which Lord Burghley's son Robert was also recently made a member.
Essex and Cecil develop a rivalry, as illustrated by the affair of Elizabeth's physician Dr. Lopez, who is hanged based on evidence brought forth by Essex of his participation in a Spanish plot against Elizabeth, evidence proved questionable after the fact by Cecil.
Essex's political ambitions clash with his devotion and loyalty to Elizabeth. As Elizabeth finds her young lover's behavior becoming increasingly problematic, she draws closer to Cecil, who is named Secretary of State following Walsingham's death. Essex is publicly hailed upon his return to England after taking Cadiz from the Spanish, but his relationship with Elizabeth begins to deteriorate.
She and Cecil suspect Essex of secretly communicating with James VI of Scotland, son of Mary, Queen of Scots and a potential successor to the English throne. After Burghley's death, Elizabeth sends Essex to Ireland to put down a rebellion, but he instead makes a truce and returns to England alone. Elizabeth puts Essex under house arrest.
Essex and his followers fail to start a rebellion in London and are captured. At his trial, after accusing Cecil of collaborating with Spain but failing to offer proof, Essex is found guilty of treason and beheaded. Sometime later, Elizabeth becomes listless, going for three weeks without eating before making her way to her bed and requesting a priest, saying she is minded to die.

## Cast

Eight actors receive billing in the opening credits of one or both parts of Elizabeth I:
* Helen Mirren as Elizabeth I
* Jeremy Irons as Earl of Leicester
* Hugh Dancy as Earl of Essex
* Toby Jones as Robert Cecil
* Patrick Malahide as Sir Francis Walsingham
* Ian McDiarmid as Lord Burghley
* Barbara Flynn as Mary, Queen of Scots
* Ewen Bremner as James VI and I
The full cast of characters of each part is listed in the closing credits of each part. Apart from those receiving star billing, those in Part 1 include:
* Jérémie Covillault as Duke of Anjou
* Simon Woods as Gifford
* Diana Kent as Lady Essex
* Toby Salaman as Dr Lopez
* Geoffrey Streatfeild as Sir Anthony Babington
* David Delve as Sir Francis Drake
* Martin Marquez as Don Bernardino de Mendoza
* Rimantas Bagdzevičius as Howard of Effingham
Apart from those receiving star billing and Salaman as Dr Lopez, those in Part 2 include:
* Will Keen as Francis Bacon
* Eddie Redmayne as Southampton
* Ben Pullen as Sir Walter Raleigh
* Charlotte Asprey as Frances Walsingham

## Production

According to director Tom Hooper, Mirren "came onboard before the script was written because the feeling was that it was only worth doing if she would play it." Hooper and Mirren had previously worked together on the police procedural drama Prime Suspect 6 (2003). The project on Elizabeth I was originally going to be two hours and focus on her relationship with the Earl of Essex, but Mirren "felt that there should be more politics" according to writer Nigel Williams. The series was filmed in Vilnius, Lithuania, where the massive sets were constructed inside a sports arena that was abandoned in the 1970s. The Whitehall Palace set was constructed to scale from original plans.

## Reception
### Critical response

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Elizabeth I received an average score of 81% based on 21 reviews.
David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that Mirren's performance "is powerful enough to shatter your television screen, not to mention any notion you might have had that if you've seen one Elizabeth—Bette Davis, Glenda Jackson or Cate Blanchett, for example—you've seen them all." He added that Irons, who he felt "has sometimes settled into craggy self-parody in lesser films [...] invests Leicester with as much depth and complexity as he can, and he is every bit Mirren's equal onscreen."
Brian Lowry of Variety felt that the second part was better than the first, praised Mirren's performance and wrote that "[director] Tom Hooper, who previously directed Mirren in Prime Suspect 6, indulges [writer Nigel] Williams' penchant for long, theatrical monologues, which require a little getting used to in the slow early going. Gradually, however, as with the best British costume drama, the narrative becomes absorbing."
Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times wrote that Mirren is "one of the few actresses working today who can actually convincingly play a historical figure in her 40s" and that Elizabeth I was more historically accurate than Elizabeth (1998), though she felt that "[the miniseries'] interpretation, like so many others, wallows in the painful self-pity of a powerful, aging woman who craves true love". While the miniseries is visually "no match for the 1998 movie" to Stanley, she concludes that Elizabeth I offers "a richly drawn portrait of a powerful woman who is both ruthless and sentimental, formidable and mercurial, vain and likable."

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| 2006 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Best Costume Design | Mike O'Neill | Nominated |
| 2006 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Best Make-Up and Hair Design | Fae Hammond | Nominated |
| 2006 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Best Original Television Music | Rob Lane | Won |
| 2006 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Best Production Design | Eve Stewart | Nominated |
| 2006 | Broadcast Awards | Best Drama Series or Serial | Best Drama Series or Serial | Nominated |
| 2006 | Broadcasting Press Guild Awards | Best Actress | Helen Mirren | Nominated |
| 2006 | Golden Nymph Awards | Outstanding Actress – Mini Series | Helen Mirren | Won |
| 2006 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Miniseries | Best Miniseries | Nominated |
| 2006 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Helen Mirren | Nominated |
| 2006 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Hugh Dancy | Nominated |
| 2006 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Jeremy Irons | Won |
| 2006 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Barbara Flynn | Nominated |
| 2006 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Nominated |
| 2006 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Writing of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Best Writing of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Won |
| 2006 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Nominated |
| 2006 | Peabody Awards | Peabody Awards | Company Pictures and Channel 4 in association with HBO Films | Won |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Miniseries | George Faber, Suzan Harrison, Charles Pattinson, Barney Reisz, and Nigel Williams | Won |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | Helen Mirren | Won |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Hugh Dancy | Nominated |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Jeremy Irons | Won |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special | Tom Hooper | Won |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special | Nigel Williams | Nominated |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie | Leon McCarthy, Eve Stewart, and Sarah Whittle | Won |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special | Doreen Jones | Won |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special | Samantha Horn and Mike O'Neill (for "Part 2") | Won |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special | Fae Hammond and Su Westwood (for "Part 2") | Won |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie | Beverley Mills (for "Part 1") | Won |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie | Melanie Oliver (for "Part 2") | Nominated |
| 2006 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie | Ken Campbell and Paul Hamblin (for "Part 1") | Nominated |
| 2006 | Royal Television Society Awards | Drama Serial | Drama Serial | Nominated |
| 2006 | Satellite Awards | Best Miniseries | Best Miniseries | Nominated |
| 2006 | Satellite Awards | Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Hugh Dancy | Nominated |
| 2006 | Satellite Awards | Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Helen Mirren | Nominated |
| 2006 | Television Critics Association Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials | Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials | Nominated |
| 2006 | Women's Image Network Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | Helen Mirren | Won |
| 2007 | American Cinema Editors Awards | Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Non-Commercial Television | Beverley Mills (for "Part 1") | Nominated |
| 2007 | American Film Institute Awards | Top 10 Television Programs | Top 10 Television Programs | Won |
| 2007 | Costume Designers Guild Awards | Outstanding Made for Television Movie or Miniseries | Mike O'Neill | Won |
| 2007 | Critics' Choice Awards | Best Picture Made for Television | Best Picture Made for Television | Won |
| 2007 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Miniseries or Television Film | Best Miniseries or Television Film | Won |
| 2007 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Helen Mirren | Won |
| 2007 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Jeremy Irons | Won |
| 2007 | Producers Guild of America Awards | David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television | Suzan Harrison, George Faber, Charles Pattinson, and Barney Reisz | Won |
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie | Jeremy Irons | Won |
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie | Helen Mirren | Won |
| 2007 | Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Broadcast Program, Commercial or Music Video | David A.T. Bowman, Jimmy Kiddell, Russell Horth, and Gurel Mehmet (for "Part 1") | Won |