Workmanlike romp: Sky Atlantic’s Mary & George reviewed

If there’s such a thing as a workmanlike romp, then Mary & George might be one. This drama about political and sexual shenanigans during the reign of James I certainly has all the scheming, racy dialogue and nudity that any romp-lover could wish for. At the same time, there’s the slightly awkward sense that it’s harbouring a guilty secret: it wants to be taken seriously as history and thinks it has some important things to say about class, gender and sexuality in 17th-century England and beyond. As a result, the naughty stuff – while definitely naughty – occasionally feels rather dutiful, and the playfulness somehow rather solemn. (‘It’s really interesting having women and queer characters at the centre of the narrative,’ says the executive producer – even though it’s hard to think of any recent drama that doesn’t.)

The Mary of the title is Mary Villiers, played with suitable film-star charisma by Julianne Moore.