History Series / Reign

** A couple of [[GeniusBonus genius bonuses]] here-- Nostradamus really did serve as Catherine de' Medici's astrologer, and she took his prophecies very seriously. Also, he started out as a physician, so he probably did know more than your average Jean about poisons and sedatives.

''Reign'', from executive producers Laurie [=McCarthy=] and Frank Siracusa, is a CW television series, premiering in October 2013 and concerning the adolescent/young adult life of Mary, Queen of Scots. After a would-be assassin discovers her hiding in a convent, Mary decides to travel to the French royal court, where she spent much of her childhood, and where her betrothed, Prince Francis, still lives. Unfortunately for Mary, life at court looks set to be dangerous as well: she struggles with the restrictions placed on a proper future queen, her fiance is faithless, her friends envy her position and resent her inability to protect them, and she can't decide which enemies are likeliest to attack her. Her only allies may be Sterling, her dog; Bash, Francis's bastard half-brother; and a mysterious Woman who saves her from being drugged and raped when she first arrives at court.

* ObnoxiousInLaws: When you try to have your son's fiance drugged and raped, you've probably [[UpToEleven gone a little past]] this trope's limits. Catherine's animosity toward Mary has a [[GeniusBonus historical basis]]: after Francis died (although whether and how the show will depict this remains unknown), she forced her to return the crown jewels and leave France immediately.

''Reign'', from executive producers Laurie [=McCarthy=] and Frank Siracusa, is a CW television series, premiering in October 2013 and concerning the adolescent/young adult life of Mary, Queen of Scots. After a would-be assassin discovers her hiding in a convent, Mary decides to travel to the French royal court, where she spent much of her childhood, and where her betrothed, Prince Francis, still lives. Unfortunately for Mary, life at court looks set to be dangerous as well: she struggles with the restrictions placed on a proper future queen, her fiance is faithless, her friends envy her position and resent her inability to protect them, and she can't decide which enemies are likeliest to attack her. Her only allies may be Sterling, her dog; Bash, Francis's bastard half-brother; and a mysterious entity who saves her from being drugged and raped when she first arrives at court.

* Foreshadowing: Mary wonders if she can rely on anyone except her dog, Sterling. In real life, Mary later used her [[PimpedOutDress full skirts]] to smuggle her little dog with her to her execution.

* TheMistress: Diane de Poitiers for Henri, Talia for Francis.
* ObnoxiousInLaws: When you try to have your son's fiance drugged and raped, you've probably [[UpToEleven gone a little past]] this trope's limits. Catherine's animosity toward Mary has a [[Genius Bonus historical basis]]: after Francis died (although whether and how the show will depict this remains unknown), she forced her to return the crown jewels and leave France immediately.

* QuestionableConsent: While Kenna doesn't obviously object to Henri's advances, it seems unlikely that his future daughter-in-law's teenage lady-in-waiting would feel comfortable refusing him, particularly given her queen's shaky status in the court and the fact that he had caught Kenna in an already-compromising position.

* AgeLift: Francis and Mary were 15 and 17 respectively at the time portrayed. Their actors are 23 and 24 respectively. May be a case of DawsonCasting instead.

* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Nostradamus does this in the pilot

* TheMistress: Diane de Poitiers.

* MysteriousBenefactor: Whoever warned Mary about the wine.

* {{Seers}}: Nostradamus
* TruthInTelevision: Nostradamus did indeed serve as an astrologer to Catherine de Medicis, and in his original career as a physician, he might well have studied effective poisons and sedatives. On the show, Nostradamus predicts that Mary will cause Francis's death; in real life, Francis died not long after the wedding, but probably not as a result of it. Henri II really had a mistress named Diane de Poitiers, whom he infamously gifted with the crown jewels. Mary was known for her beauty, but she had a fair complexion and auburn hair, unlike Adelaide Kane, the olive-skinned brunette who plays her on the show.

* ArrangedMarriage: Pretty much the only kind around. Lola and Colin try to break free of this trope, but he dies before by the pilot ends, so that's probably not going anywhere.

* TheSeer: Nostradamus

* DoubleStandard: Queen Catherine notes that if a queen is unfaithful, her children will face challenges to their place in the succession. By contrast, the royal men sleep around with merry abandon-- especially Catherine's lecherous husband, King Henry II.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: One of Mary's handmaidens is engaged in this when caught by an aroused Henry. They move on from there to making out.

* DirtyOldMan: Henry II. In addition to treating his mistress better than his queen, he finds one of his daughter-in-law's teenaged handmaidens [[ADateWithRosiePalms pleasuring herself]] in a supposedly-private stairwell... and takes the opportunity to hit on her.

* TruthInTelevision: Nostradamus did indeed serve as an astrologer to Catherine de Medicis, and in his original career as a physician, he might well have studied effective poisons and sedatives. On the show, Nostradamus predicts that Mary will cause Francis's death; in real life, Francis died not long after the wedding, but probably not as a result of it. Henry II really had a mistress named Diane de Poitiers, whom he infamously gifted with the crown jewels. Mary was known for her beauty, but she had a fair complexion and auburn hair, unlike Adelaide Kane, the olive-skinned brunette who plays her on the show.
* YourCheatingHeart: Henry and Francis.

* DreamingTheFuture: Nostradamus does this in the pilot

''Reign'', from executive producers Laurie [=McCarthy=] and Frank Siracusa, is a CW television series, premiering in October 2013 and concerning the adolescent/young adult life of Mary, Queen of Scots. After a would-be assassin discovers her hiding in a convent, Mary decides to travel to the French royal court, where she spent much of her childhood, and where her betrothed, Prince Francis, still lives. Unfortunately for Mary, life at court looks set to be dangerous as well: she struggles with the restrictions placed on a proper future queen, her fiance is faithless, her friends envy her position and resent her inability to protect them, and she can't decide which enemies are likeliest to attack her. Her only allies may be Sterling, her dog; Bash, Francis's bastard half-brother; and a mysterious entity who saves her from poisoning when she first arrives at court.

* AgeLift: Francis and Mary were 15 and 17 respectively at the time portrayed. Their actors are 23 and 24 respectively.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: One of Mary's handmaidens is engaged in this when caught by an aroused Henry. [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean They move on from there.]]

* ADateWithRosiePalms: One of Mary's handmaidens is engaged in this when caught by an aroused Henry. [[IfYouKnowWhatiMean They move on from there.]]

* AgeLift: Francis and Mary were 15 and 17 respectively. Their actors are 23 and 24 respectively.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: One of Mary's handmaidens is engaged in this when caght by an aroused Henry. [[IfYouKnowWhatiMean They move on from there.]]

''Reign'', from executive producers Laurie McCarthy and Frank Siracusa, is a CW television series, premiering in October 2013 and concerning the adolescent/young adult life of Mary, Queen of Scots. After a would-be assassin discovers her hiding in a convent, Mary decides to travel to the French royal court, where she spent much of her childhood, and where her betrothed, Prince Francis, still lives. Unfortunately for Mary, life at court looks set to be dangerous as well: she struggles with the restrictions placed on a proper future queen, her fiance is faithless, her friends envy her position and resent her inability to protect them, and she can't decide which enemies are likeliest to attack her. Her only allies may be Sterling, her dog; Bash, Francis's bastard half-brother; and a mysterious entity who saves her from poisoning when she first arrives at court.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: One of Mary's handmaidens is engaged in this when caght by an aroused Henry

* ADateWithRosyPalms: One of Mary's handmaidens is engaged in this when caght by an aroused Henry

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's hard to know whether the entity that warns Mary not to drink the wine (which is drugged) is an incorporeal spirit or just an ''extremely'' stealthy human.

''Reign'', from executive producers Laurie McCarthy and Frank Siracusa, is a CW television series, premiering in October 2013 and concerning the adolescent/young adult life of Mary, Queen of Scots. After a would-be assassin discovers her hiding in a convent, Mary decides to travel to the French royal court, where she spent much of her childhood, and where her betrothed, Prince Francis, still lives. Unfortunately for Mary, life at court looks set to be dangerous as well: she struggles with the restrictions placed on a proper future queen, her fiance is faithless, her friends envy her position and resent her inability to protect them, and she can't decide which enemies are likeliest to attack her. Her only allies may be Bash, Francis's bastard half-brother, and a mysterious entity who saves her from poisoning when she first arrives at court.

* The Mistress: Diane de Poitiers.

* PimpedOutDress: Not as ubiquitous as in some works set in this time period, but Kenna definitely favors them.