A Very Royal Scandal premiered on Amazon Prime on Thursday, but TV critics have given it mixed reviews.
The series retells the story of Prince Andrew’s infamous interview with journalist Emily Maitlis.
Michael Sheen stars as the Duke of York and is joined by Ruth Wilson as Emily Maitlis.
While critics appreciated Michael Sheen’s performance in the drama about the Newsnight encounter with the Duke of York, they also criticised the storyline, drawing comparisons to the Netflix success The Crown.
The prince was previously depicted in Netflix’s Scoop earlier this year, where he was grilled about his relationship with billionaire and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
While Prince Andrew was the main focus of Netflix’s Scoop, Emily Maitlis, an executive producer, became the main subject of the new series from Amazon MGM Studios.
A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed the series will “follow Emily Maitlis’ professional and personal journey as a Newsnight journalist, leading up to her acclaimed interview with Prince Andrew.”
A press release added, “A Very Royal Scandal follows the actions of Maitlis and Prince Andrew in the lead-up to the interview, the ground-breaking event itself, and the many questions left in its wake that would change their lives forever.”
Speaking of the rivalry between the Netflix and Amazon projects, Emily Maitlis told Deadline: “I think that probably is overplayed, overstated. This [the Amazon series] will be a very different beast. I’m sure there’s room for both.”
UK Critics gave A Very Royal Scandal between two and four stars out of five, with The Guardian’s Rebecca Nicholson praising Michael Sheen playing Andrew as “a near-tragic buffoon, a man-child who believes that he is charm personified, but berates his staff with endless” tirades.
She compared it to The Crown, as did the Telegraph’s Anita Singh who called it “a bad episode” of the Netflix royal drama.
The 2019 interview that caused Andrew to disappear from public life was recreated, but according to Anita Singh, it “feels like one too many” and Michael Sheen “makes little attempt to physically inhabit the role but leans into Andrew’s petulant, unpleasant side.”
Recreating the royals… #RoyalScandal #PrinceAndrew #JeffreyEpstein
A Very Royal Scandal Cast: Who Plays Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein, Fergie & Beatrice? 👇https://t.co/U9bSjMLoR7
— Den Of Geek UK (@denofgeek) September 19, 2024
Giving it a two out of five, Anita stated that the “flashes of humour” during the behind-the-scenes royal moments “are more watchable than the self-congratulatory moments with Maitlis and her BBC colleagues.”
Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian gave it three stars because it was “too frictionless for its own good.”
Michael Sheen and Ruth Wilson had “hefty, quality performances,” although the dialogue was “sometimes expositional and cliched,” according to Carol Midgley of The Times.
Giving it four stars, she said: “Sheen has bursts of brilliance as Andrew – the scenes in which he attempts to banter with the BBC technicians setting up the cameras are inspired, an idiot trying to impress his executioners.”
A Very Royal Scandal viewers complain their ‘skin is crawling’ as they’re ‘astounded’ by Michael Sheen’s uncanny performance as Prince Andrew https://t.co/obnqXFATG9 pic.twitter.com/pIyqXBej3T
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) September 19, 2024
“Is the series self-admiring? Yes, inevitably. But there is much to admire. It is not perfect but it is highly entertaining and, in my opinion, a better piece of television than Scoop.”
The I newspaper’s Rachael Sigee awarded the show only two stars and said: “The imagined scenes of Prince Andrew and his family mostly amount to an extended episode of The Crown with a murmuring of satire that is never fully realised.”
“While a scene featuring the royal press secretaries delivering a scathing interpretation of the ‘frictionless existence’ of their charges hints at a far sharper drama, the drama bottles its chance to depict either the Queen or future King on screen.”
