BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – The cast and creator of the upcoming series Reign, about the rise of Mary, Queen of Scots, are defending creative liberties taken for the show.
Reign stars Adelaide Kane as Mary, a 15-year-old who arrives at court because of an arranged marriage to Francis, the future king of France.
One issue: Francis is played by hunky actor Toby Regbo when in reality Francis was a sickly child.
And to keep things interesting, there’s a love triangle where Mary is torn between her husband-to-be and another hunky character named Sebastian, who never existed.
Kane says the show’s target demo of 18- to 34-year-olds won’t care.
“How many teenage girls do you know that are obsessed with history? I know I wasn’t at that age,” Kane said Tuesday at the annual Television Critics Association press tour.
“It’s also TV, so you can take creative license. It’s entertainment, it’s not the History channel,” said Kane, adding that she did a lot of research to play Mary.
Torrance Coombs, who plays Sebastian, joked about his character not being real in history.
Executive Producer Laurie McCarthy said she uses Mary’s story as a template for storytelling. “I actually feel liberated by the actual facts of her life.”
Reign is currently in production in Toronto and premieres in October.
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