Ranking Every HBO Miniseries From Worst To Best
22. Elizabeth I
The original Mirren x Royalty collaboration is much more like it. The 2005 miniseries depicting the middle period of Elizabeth I’s reign as queen would probably not have even been made without Mirren signing on - she was brought onto the project before a script was even written, so sure were the producers that she was the woman for the job.
Thankfully, they were right. Mirren is sensational here, playing all sides of the queen - the toughness with which she ruled, her cunning decision making, and the softer side in her much discussed, unfulfilled personal life. Wisely the entirety of the narrative is age appropriate for the actress, who never so much as risks caricature by way of distracting de-aging makeup or similar.
She’s met by a terrific turn by Jeremy Irons as the Earl of Leicester, whose character is allowed the depth and complexity to ensure that this is more than just a one woman show.
It’s a theatrical piece replete with chewy monologues that Mirren delivers with relish. Not at all a stodgy costume drama, this is a historical miniseries that will stand the test of time.