MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
HBO, 8:00 p.m. ET
This 2018 period drama is a result of powerful pairings both in front of the camera and in the writers’ room. John Guy, one of the writers here, is the author of Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart, so he knows an awful lot about the Scottish monarch’s attempt to overthrow her cousin, Elizabeth I, as the ruler of England. The screenplay is by Beau Willimon, who created the Netflix version of House of Cards, so he knows an awful lot about power grabs and political intrigue in general. And on camera, the rival cousins are played by two attention-demanding, and attention-deserving, young actresses. The title character is portrayed by Saoirse Ronan, star of Lady Bird, Hanna, and The Lovely Bones, and Queen Elizabeth I is played by Margot Robbie, who portrayed Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, and starred in Suicide Squad, The Wolf of Wall Street, and I, Tonya.