13 Years Later, Rebecca Ferguson's Forgotten Historical Drama Series Resurfaces on Streaming

1 week ago 9

Published Feb 1, 2026, 6:20 PM EST

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Before Rebecca Ferguson was going toe-to-toe with Ethan Hunt or steering the fate of entire galaxies, she was surviving the political bloodbath of medieval England. And now, more than a decade after its original release, The White Queen is finding a brand-new audience on streaming.

The Starz miniseries tackled one of the most chaotic chapters in British history: the War of the Roses. (Not the Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman meltdown). Betrayals, secret marriages, power grabs, and family members turning on each other in spectacularly dramatic fashion — it’s the kind of material that could easily fuel multiple seasons of prestige TV. Instead, The White Queen condensed decades of dynastic warfare into just ten episodes, speeding through history at a pace that left viewers both impressed and wanting more.

And every miniseries needs a bright star, which it got in Ferguson. She plays Elizabeth Woodville, a widowed commoner who marries King Edward IV (Max Irons) and becomes queen in a court that views her as an outsider — and possibly a witch. Ferguson plays Elizabeth not as a loud schemer, but as something more dangerous: a patient, observant survivor. From her very first scenes, she radiates quiet calculation, balancing vulnerability with steel. It’s a performance built on restraint and intelligence, the kind that makes you lean in rather than sit back.

How Good Is 'The White Queen'?

Collider’s review stated that The White Queen offered a glossy, female-driven take on the Wars of the Roses, standing out from other medieval dramas by focusing on the women behind the power struggles. Anchored by Ferguson’s luminous turn as Elizabeth Woodville, the series framed royal romance and political scheming through the perspectives of queens, mothers, and daughters rather than battlefield generals. Still, for viewers drawn to palace politics, arranged marriages, and shifting loyalties, The White Queen proved to be an engaging, accessible period drama with a refreshing angle on familiar history.

"The White Queen is a worthy entry into the world of period dramas that includes The Tudors and The Borgias (which Max Irons' father Jeremy starred in), and its female perspective is a refreshingly new view of a time period well covered in television and film. The sanitized storytelling may not be for everyone, but those who are game for a gentle late-summer survey course that covers the years betweenThe Hollow Crown and the Tudors, well, God Save the Queen."

The White Queen is streaming now on Starz.