6 Hilarious Historical Inaccuracies In 'Reign'

The most recent Tudor Period show to hit the small screen, Reign has already made a splash for its interesting take on Mary Queen of Scott's early life at the French Court. Coming off the back of other period dramas such as The Tudors and Downton Abbey, Reign seems to be pandering to a younger audience on a fraction of the budget. There's taking artistic license and then there's this hilarious train wreck. Don't get me wrong though, I'll be watching every deliciously terrible episode. Here are just a few of the most entertaining historical liberties that have been taken so far.

1. The Costumes

When questioned what her inspiration for the costuming was, designer Meredith Markwork-Pollack named both "history" and "fashion." Truly a revolutionary concept when working on a historical drama. I'm not too sure sure how seriously she took her own guidelines though.

Now, I may not be an expert on 16th century French fashion, but I'm quite sure that thigh length dresses paired with knee high socks wasn't the style at the time. Considering that one of Markwork-Pollack's "go to" outlets is Net-A-Porter we probably shouldn't be too surprised about her modern take on historical fashion. In the meantime, just distract yourself with the pirate blouses and pretty bohemian headbands and earrings.

2. The Music

If they laugh in the face of even vaguely historical costuming, why would you expect that the music would be at all period? In some half ass attempt to be A Knights Tale, the majority of the show is littered with folk pop. If I closed my eyes and listened I would assume that the fifth season of Skins was on my TV. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Mumford & Sons make a surprise cameo performance in the next episode.

3. The Accents

I don't want to be That Guy who carries on about the imperfect accents in a show, but Reign seriously takes not caring to amazing new heights. I at least expected everyone to put on those pseudo English accents that seem to be acceptable in films set in France. However, what we get are a mixture of American and Australians-Pretending-To-Be-British accents amongst amongst the English. My favourite one so far has been a guard who clearly didn't give a crap and let his native New Zealand accent run free.

4. Sexy Nostradamus

Apothecary. Seer. Old. These were the things that Nostradamus was in 1557. However Reign has him being all hot, in a hipster sort of way, as he conspires with the Queen against Mary. Who doesn't love a sexy soothsayer? The same goes for Francis, who was supposed to be a stuttering mess of a man. Well played, Casting Directors.

5. The Names

It's hard to miss Mary's beautiful Plastics that follow her around everywhere. In real life, they were all known as the Four Mary's because that was pretty much everyone's name back then. To make it less confusing for a modern audience, Mary's friends were given new names - Greer, Lola, Kenna, and Aylee. Just, what? Even Philippa Gregory wouldn't pull that kind of hilarious crap.

6. The Dancing

If the music ain't right, why would the dancing be? Episode 1 saw Mary and her friends free styling round the French court like 13 year olds at their first dance. Which I guess they kind of were. Seriously though, it was so ridiculous that I was legitimately waiting for them to break into the Fatboy Slim dance routine from She's All That.