History Series / UpstartCrow

* BaitAndSwitch: The show does this with the Earl of Southampton, who Will is depicted as having rather more than just a crush on. The audience is led to believe that this will probably be all one way, and that Southampton will regard Will as an AbhorrentAdmirer--but then Southampton turns out to be a fairly realistic version of a CampGay man who's highly annoyed that Will is married, refers to Anne as Will's "beard", and tells him to come back when he's properly embraced his sexuality.

* ComedicWorkSeriousScene: This is a comedy about Creator/WilliamShakespeare. Will's rants about travelling home from London are a regular feature. Then, in one episode, he stomps in as usual and his exasperated rant is met by stony silence. It takes him a minute to register the change in tone. And then he finds out that his young son Hamnet died while he was away. It's not PlayedForLaughs. Anne takes comfort in her religion, allowing her to carry on, Will plays along for her sake but privately he is devastated and considers his beloved son lost to him forever.

* CurseOfTheAncients: Everyone uses these, with ordinary rude words being disguised as archaic versions of themselves so that the character can swear without technically swearing. Frequently this is done simply by sticking '-ington' on the end of an existing word (e.g. 'arsington', 'turdington') but there's also 'bolingbrokes', invariably used to mean 'testicles', and 'futtock', which is always used in the place of 'fuck'.

** Will references this trope again in 'Green-Eyed Monster' after falling for Robert Greene's ploy.

* ComedicWorkSeriousScene: This is a comedy about Creator/WilliamShakespeare. Will's rants about travelling home from London are a regular feature. Then, in one episode, he stomps in as usual and his exasperated rant is met by stony silence. It takes him a minute to register the change in tone. And then he finds out that his young son Hamnet died while he was away. It's not PlayedForLaughs.

** The real Robert Greene, who wrote the Groats-Worth, from which the title comes, passed away a month before it was published, at the age of 34, in 1592.

* {{Narm}}: How most of the people interpret Shakespeare's synopsis of Hamlet.

* TimeSkip: Series 3 having ended in Christmas 1596 (with Will still grieving for his son Hamnet), the next installment is set at Christmas 1603, with the deaths of Will's father John[[1601]] and Elizabeth I[[note]]Earlier that year, but with old style dates it was New Year's Eve 1602.[[/note]] mentioned in dialogue.

* AnachronismStew: "A Christmas Crow" shows Elizabeth's throne decorated with the modern day royal arms - with Scottish elements that were introduced by her successor James I.

* PlayingGertrude: [[invoked]] Will asks Condell to play Gertrude in ''Hamlet'' and the actor immediately [[BlatantLies claims that he's too young for the role]] but will give it a try, anyway.

* WriterOnBoard: The show takes some not-so-subtle digs at modern British society that Ben Elton and David Mitchell aren't particularly fond of. The current state of British railway is a favorite target.

* Narmtastic: How most of the people interpret Shakespeare's synopsis of Hamlet.

* ChristmasSpecial: Currently two extended episodes, in fact, featuring StuntCasting.

** Kit Marlowe is a dashing scoundrel, a shameless womaniser who is happy to abuse his friendship with Will to get his name on plays he had not written a word of. However, he's always in a good mood, and when it comes to Will being in a genuinely ruinous situations he's happy to step in, even at the risk of his own reputation.

* OrAreYouJustHappyToSeeMe: In "If You Prick Me, Do I Not Bleed?", Kit says that a woman accused him of hiding a a baguette in his tights, but it was a misunderstanding and he was just glad to see her.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Series/{{Blackadder}}''. Specifically ''Blackadder II''.

* MagnificentBastard: Kit, in "Beware My Sting!" Robert Greene wants to prevent Will's new play ''The Taming of the Shrew'' from ever reaching the stage, so he points out to Will that Queen Elizabeth will surely regard a play in which a spirited young woman is tamed and humbled by a man as an insult to herself. Will has an OhCrap moment and decides that the play can't go on: Greene is delighted. Then, Kit (in his capacity as government spy) points out to Greene that it's far more serious than that: the play is potentially treasonous. Greene is even more delighted, and shows the play to Elizabeth. However, she thinks it's a hilarious masterpiece. To the horror of Greene, it gets produced and is a huge hit. Kit points out to Will and his family that Elizabeth doesn't actually care about women in general, only herself in particular, and would certainly have revelled in the story of one uppity woman getting put in her place.