Do you remember the Tudors? Not the actual dynasty itself, but the thrillingly awful television series about Henry VIII? But say what you like about the series, it was certainly popular, and it spawned a great many imitations.
The Tudors had one major drawback, and that was it concentrated on the reign of Henry VIII, which was rather a giveaway. After all, Henry VII was an important king and a great one too in some senses, but things like balancing the books and handing on a surplus in the treasury (he was the last monarch to do so) as well as endowing numerous houses of the Observant Franciscans, do not great television make. Beheadings and beddings are far more fun; though one wonders why the series did not tackle the reign of Edward VI: there were a lot of dour Protestant divines about, it is true, in the brief six years he reigned, but also a lot of power struggles as well, and quite a few beheadings.
