HBO Max Orders Animated British Royal Family Satire Series ‘The Prince’

By Joe Otterson

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – HBO Max has ordered an animated comedy series centered on the British royal family.

“The Prince” hails from writer and executive producer Gary Janetti. Based on Janetti’s Instagram account, the series takes a look at the royals through the eyes of Prince George, the eldest child of Prince William and Princess Kate. Janetti will voice Prince George, with other members of the voice cast including: Orlando Bloom as Prince Harry, Condola Rashad at Meghan Markle, Lucy Punch as Kate Middleton, Tom Hollander as both Prince Philip and Prince Charles, Alan Cumming as George’s butler Owen, Frances De La Tour as Queen Elizabeth, and Iwan Rheon as Prince William. 20th Century Fox Television will produce.

“I’m thrilled to be working at and bringing them yet another series about a family ruthlessly fighting for the throne,” said Janetti.

This marks the second series that Janetti has in the works at HBO Max. It was previously announced that he and his husband, celebrity stylist Brad Goreski, were working on the travel docuseries “Brad and Gary Go To…” at the nascent streamer. Janetti’s other TV writing credits include shows like “Family Guy” and “Will & Grace.” He also co-created the series “Vicious” starring Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen.

“We’re so excited to bring the world Gary’s created on Instagram over to HBO Max, where our viewers can discover what his Instagram fans already know – that George can be hilarious, shocking, and surprisingly sweet,” said Sarah Aubrey, head of original content for HBO Max. “We can’t wait to see what Gary does with a bigger canvas to paint on than just a 1:1 square.”

News of the series comes on the heels of the news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be stepping back from their roles as senior members of the royal family. Speaking at an event in London last week , Prince Harry said the decision was not one the couple made lightly.

“It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges,” he said. “And I know I haven’t always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option. What I want to make clear is we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you.”

Harry’s comments came a day after Buckingham Palace announced that the couple are to lose their royal titles  of “His Royal Highness” and “Her Royal Highness.”