‘The Serpent Queen’ Stars Samantha Morton and Minnie Driver Spill on Sex, Scheming and How Catherine de Medici and Elizabeth I Are Like…Spider-Man?

The second season of Starz‘s The Serpent Queen has been pretty wild so far. In just the first five episodes of the season alone, we’ve seen a version of the “Virgin Queen,” Elizabeth I (Minnie Driver), who literally uses sex to ensnare the scheming French Protestant Louis de Bourbon (Danny Kirrane) to her side, a cross-dressing, queer version of Anjou (Stanley Morgan), and the introduction of Catherine de Medici’s (Samantha Morton) secret Black half-brother Alessandro de Medici (Ashley Thomas). Catherine herself has hooked up with long-time advisor Montmarcy (Alexandre Willaume), Mary, Queen of Scots (Antonia Clarke) has been spotted languishing in a cell, and Catherine’s youngest daughter Margot (Philippine Velge) is besotted by the older, closeted Duc de Guise (Raza Jaffrey). Let’s just say, there’s a lot going on…and we haven’t even mentioned the royal who got kicked in the head by a horse he was torturing for fun or the Protestant miracle worker stoking seeds of revolution.

Once again, Serpent Queen creator and showrunner Justin Haythe has crafted a soapy banger of a period drama, brimming with shocking historically accurate details and bold reinterpretations of figures we thought we knew. Once again, Samantha Morton’s fourth wall-breaking version of Catherine is there to guide us through this complex, juicy yarn. However, this time, she’s not recounting her life story to her protege, young Rahima (Sennia Nanua). That’s because Rahima is now all grown up, and played by Emma McDonald.

Earlier this summer, Decider caught up with Serpent Queen stars Samantha Morton and Minnie Driver at Summer 2024 TCA to chat about the new season of the Starz show. We delved into Driver’s not so virginal Virgin Queen, how Catherine really sees her children, and why Catherine de Medici isn’t a role all that dissimilar from Spider-Man…

*Spoilers for the first four episodes of The Serpent Queen Season 2, now streaming on Starz**

DECIDER: Samantha, there is a new Rahima this season. Emma McDonald has taken the role. You’re no longer telling Rahima your backstory; you’re kind of talking to the audience. So tell me, what was it like working with Emma? And did it change anything in your performance to know that you’re talking just to the audience and not to both the audience and Rahima in your storytelling?

SAMANTHA MORTON: Okay, so Rahima, the younger Rahima was a — what do you call it? Like a plot device in order to tell the audience the story, but I still broke the fourth wall in Season 1. Emma’s brilliant. I knew that we were moving forward in time and the actress that played the young Rahima hadn’t really done very much. I felt for her, because it was such a lot to do and period and, you know, you find yourself looking after the littles. So it was really nice to then work with a grown up, who I just could trust that they’re going to get on with it. So I wasn’t always not only worrying about Catherine, but worrying about the actress. You know, because I’m a mom and you’re going to do that. And Emma’s just phenomenal and her storyline is really interesting because she’s almost like a protege of Catherine. But I’ll let Emma say certain things about it. I don’t want to give too much away.

Minnie, we’ve seen so many actresses play their own versions of Queen Elizabeth. What did you want to bring that was particular to you to the performance? 

MINNIE DRIVER: Well, I think it was written into the script that she is witty and sharp. I think there was a roughness that I really liked and wanted to bring to her. Behind the makeup and the clothes and the wig, if you took it all away, you could actually see a sort of UFC fistfight between Catherine and Elizabeth that I always had in the back of my mind.

SM: [Laughs]

MD: I was like, yeah, they would absolutely smash each other, just really. So there was that feral quality that I really wanted her to have that was like, “Don’t be taken in by all of this, because behind it is a survivor.” Which is exactly what I think is there at the core of Catherine as well. 

Samantha, in the first season, we watch as Catherine falls in love with Henry and is very fixated on him. So I was surprised and excited when in Episode 2, she and Montmorency, they have a very, like, just no frills, physical kind of hookup. What does that tell you about Catherine at this time and were you excited to see her express her sexuality that way?

SM: I think, again, it comes down to the writing. I think why Justin is so brilliant is his acknowledgment and belief in, you know, she’s a human being, too. She has needs and carnal desires and why not? You know, you don’t hit a certain age and then, “Oh, I don’t want to cuddle, thank you very much.” I thought that was really brave. I mean, yeah, it is a real thing. So, yeah, it was good. 

Minnie, with the Virgin Queen, a lot of other productions have sort of punctured holes in that legend. Here we have an Elizabeth who not only is sexual, but uses that sexuality as sort of a strategy to get Bourbon on her side. Was it fun for you to portray Elizabeth like that? 

MD: Yeah. I mean, you know, any time you see the Virgin Queen having sex, I mean, something fun is happening. It’s excellent. It’s subverting an entire historical brand. Yeah, it was great. I mean, it was also really nice not to wear a corset. I was like, didn’t really fancy doing a nude scene, but it was very nice not to be in a corset. 

Samantha, you mentioned earlier that Rahima was kind of Catherine’s protege. I thought it was really interesting because in Episode 4, there’s a scene with Margot. Margot, out of all of her children seems to be like, she could have been another Catherine had she needed to survive. She has the wit. She has idealism for what could be done. Your character kind of coaches Margot into how to manipulate her brother. Did occur to you that, like… 

SM: Oh, I didn’t see that.

Oh, I thought she was kind of manipulating her daughter.

SM: Oh, that’s very interesting, I love that. 

I’m curious what you saw in the relationship between Catherine and Margot, because she definitely kind of stands out from the rest of her siblings. 

There’s a clash there — a mother/daughter clash — not in the way that she has with her other children. I think that Anjou is like another Catherine. I think that she sees Margo as spoiled, obnoxious, rude, demanding, needy, and is pretty appalled at her behavior, really. You know, she has all this privilege. So I think that for Catherine, she’s very annoyed with her, and I don’t think she’s teaching her how to be manipulative in regards to her brother. It’s more Catherine looking at the bigger picture and saying, “This is what I need to happen in order to save the country because her brother’s the king.” You know what I mean? And, yeah, there was a wonderful film, La Reine Margot. It was a French film, with Isabelle Adjani—

MD: Oh my God. Yes!

SM: Phenomenal. I went to the cinema to see it and so it was the first time I was aware of this story and this part of history. I think that interpretation is very different and I love that. On our show we can — you know, like with Mary, Queen of Scots in Season 1 — we have people come on board and we just claim it. Make it your own.

MD: It’s like people coming into a universe. Yes, they’re historical figures, but what Justin Haythe has done is create this new space for these characters to exist so that they don’t have to be referencing [other interpretations]. Elizabeth doesn’t have to reference all the other Elizabeths that have gone before and Mary, Queen of Scots or Margot. 

SM: Oh yeah, there’s been other interpretations of Catherine in French cinema, in television, that we haven’t seen over here. But, you know, I mean, how many times we have a new Spider-Man? 

Yeah. 

SM: There’s always a new Spider-Man, Superman, you know? Lear, Hamlet, Lady Macbeth… It’s just these brilliant characters newly interpreted. 

This is an ongoing series. How long would you like to play these parts? Because we’re getting to some really interesting parts in French history and English history. Would you be game for Seasons 3 and 4? And is there anything that you are hoping Justin gives you a juicy take on for you to sink your teeth into? 

SM: I think I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’d love to play Catherine as long as the storyline is relevant. I think when shows go on too long, it’s because, “Oh, the fans love it so much. We want to give them more.” But if the writer doesn’t have anything to write, if history runs out, I mean, these are based on real people. Obviously we can say about our characters that they didn’t really meet, but there were all these letters. So we can imagine what they would have done if they had’ve met. But it has to be right. You can’t just do something for the wrong reasons. So, yeah, I mean, I remember with Rupert Everett (playing Charles V) in Season 1, one of the first things I said to Justin when we did Season 2 is, “Am I going to get to work with Rupert again?” Because you just don’t know. So you just don’t know where these characters are going to go. 

MD: I mean, yeah, it’s amazing. I wish I could have been in more of this season. It was a total revelation. It was really wonderful, I loved it. 

One last question. You know, I was really excited to meet Catherine’s brother Alessandro de Medici this season because he was a character in history I actually didn’t know much about. It was delightful to meet and to know that part of Italian history. How important is it that you are able to incorporate characters of color who were historically important into this series now?

SM: Massively, without a shadow of a doubt. And the same with Anjou, with the LGBTQ community. It’s a no brainer. It’s even odd that we’re having the conversation about how I would feel about that happening because it should have happened anyway. You know, but also this is entertainment. We’re telling stories and we therefore we have the authority to interpret it in whichever way.

MD: And we always did [have this diversity], that’s the thing. Yeah, we always did, but it was always like this idea of this hushed tones of history. That history has been completely whitewashed and that there were no gay people. And, you know, it’s so free and brilliant and not before time. This story accommodates all of those things, not only historically, but here we are in terms of current storytelling. 

SM: But I have to say, as well, that there’s accuracy in that. It’s true. Rather than we are having a token black character or we’re having a token gay character or a token female character. It’s not to do with quotas. These are true things, and rightly so. You know, it’s a no brainer. 

This interview has been edited and formatted for clarity.

The Serpent Queen Season 2 Episodes 1-6 are now streaming on Starz. The Serpent Queen Season 2 Episode 6 “Courting the Valois” premieres tonight on Starz at at 8:00 PM ET/PT.