Back in middle school, I picked up a book entitled “My Lady Jane.” It was an alternate universe historical fantasy, reimagining the life of Jane Grey, and I loved it. So much so that I read it several times. I eventually aged out of YA literature and forgot about the book—until, out of the blue, a TV adaptation came out.

At first, I wasn’t planning on watching the show. Yes, I had loved the book when I was younger, but it was aimed at a slightly younger audience than I am now, and I assumed the show would be the same. I didn’t want to dull the glossy memories I had of the book. But, after seeing an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the show from adult viewers, I figured it was worth giving a chance.

And I was right. “My Lady Jane” (the TV show) was an incredibly fun ride from start to finish. It’s loyal to the premise of the book, but takes its own liberties with plot and broadens its age-range appeal. It’s off-the-wall bonkers, but also provided the escapism I needed as I adjust to life in Paris. The show isn’t perfect, and I think there are things that the book did better, but it was so much fun, enough so that I think it’s worth a review and recommendation here.

The basic premise of “My Lady Jane” is to retell the life of Jane Grey (Emily Bader), who was Queen of England for nine days between Edward VI and Mary I (a.k.a. Bloody Mary). In this universe, rather than a conflict between Catholics and Protestants, England is divided between “Verities” and “Ethians.” Verities are normal humans (and the stand-in for Catholics) while Ethians can shapeshift into an animal form (and are the stand-in for Protestants). Jane is a classic headstrong/brainy/brunette YA fantasy hero, and is forced into an arranged marriage with classic tall/dark/handsome/brooding YA male love interest Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel). There’s just one problem—Guildford is an Ethian who can’t control his powers. Every morning at sunrise, he transforms into a horse and does not revert back to human form until sunset. And that’s only the start of the ridiculousness.

Jane and Guildford have a pretty typical arranged marriage romance plot (which avoids feeling too tropey because of the whole horse thing). Their arguments early on are handled perfectly, with the right level of humor and obvious chemistry. The way their love story develops feels natural while still being appropriately swoony. It’s easy to become invested in the two of them, and their relationship forms the emotional core of the show. Bader and Bluemel are each phenomenal actors in their own right and bring out the best in each other, imbuing their characters with a huge amount of heart.

However, this is not just a romance show. Various characters are scheming, plotting, murdering or all of the above. The show is buoyed by a fantastic ensemble cast with every actor giving their all in their roles. Anna Chancellor is a particular highlight as Lady Frances Grey, Jane’s manipulative, slightly horrible yet ultimately well-meaning mother. She has excellent comic timing while still bringing out her character’s complexity. Kate O’Flynn and Dominc Cooper are an excellent villain duo as Mary and Seymour, and manage to make their often ridiculous lines sound threatening. Rob Brydon is a particular comedic highlight as Lord Dudley, and Robyn Betteridge delivers one of the best child performances I’ve ever seen as Margaret Grey, Jane’s murderous younger sister. 

Because of the inherent silliness in the show’s premise, it makes the decision to lean into comedy. The show utilizes a narrator (Oliver Chris) to deliver humorous commentary on the goings-on. Most of our supporting cast plays larger than life, and I laughed a lot during every episode. Any time the show goes for comedy, it is successful. However, it is slightly less successful when it tries to go for more serious storytelling. The forced marriage of Jane’s sister Katherine Grey (Isabella Brownson) to the Duke of Leicester (Jim Broadbent)—her old, disgusting and utterly despicable great-great uncle—feels tonally dissonant from the rest of the show and is incredibly hard to watch. The show can’t decide whether to play Mary and Seymour’s sadism for laughs or for horror, and as a result there’s some severe tonal dissonance in later episodes. The phenomenal cast manages to disguise some of these sticky bits, but they do weaken the show.

Tonal dissonance also comes into play with the adaptation of a YA novel into a TV show aimed at adults. There are multiple explicit scenes and a couple instances of graphic violence. However, the premise and tone of the show is extremely faithful to the book, which is very much YA. As a result, viewers more interested in the romcom and love scenes might get frustrated by the more juvenile humor, while viewers just looking for a wacky historical comedy might get annoyed by the romance. I certainly found the switches in tone jarring in earlier episodes, but in my opinion, the final episode brought everything together beautifully. The Jane/Guildford story resolves itself in a truly bonkers way suitable to the show’s premise. At the same time, the previously goofy subplots develop into something more serious, with particularly lovely moments for Frances and Lord Dudley. You need to accept both the sentimental and the absurd with this show, and once you do, it works incredibly well.

So, is this show worth a watch? In my opinion, absolutely yes. It’s fun, it’s easy to watch and I had a great time with it. Sadly, Amazon has canceled it after just one season, but there’s a passionate campaign to save the show (promoted by the likes of George R. R. Martin). Still, the one season tells a complete story, and it’s a good one. In my opinion, the book had a slightly better twist ending and was more tonally consistent, but the show adds more depth to its supporting cast while still keeping the book’s brand of wacky humor. If you’re looking for a new show to binge while you procrastinate writing your essays, this is the one.