Ovation revisits Tudors

The Tudors

US arts network Ovation TV has acquired all four seasons of The Tudors in a bid to drive viewers to another of its recently acquired period dramas, Versailles.

Ovation TV will begin airing the Showtime series on August 27 ahead of Versailles’ premiere in the US on October 1, after doing a deal with CBS Television Distribution.

The 38×60′ series chronicles the early years in the reign of England’s King Henry VIII, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, from 1520 to 1530, when he divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

It was produced by Peace Arch and TM Productions for the BBC in association with the CBC in Canada and Showtime Networks and originally aired in the US between 2007 and 2010.

Versailles, meanwhile, is set in 1667 and focuses on King Louis XIV during a defining period in French history.

“With the upcoming Ovation TV premiere of Versailles, we wanted to program another smart, sexy series to whet everyone’s appetite for binge-worthy costume drama and The Tudors fits the bill,” said Scott Woodward, exec VP of programming and production at Ovation.