Prince Andrew's 2019 BBC Newsnight interview that rocked the British monarchy is center stage in the newly released trailer for Amazon Prime's A Very Royal Scandal, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal.
The three-episode series, out Sept. 19, sees Michael Sheen take on the role of Prince Andrew and Ruth Wilson play journalist Emily Maitlis in the latest dramatization of the disastrous BBC Newsnight interview in November 2019 that ended the Duke of York's public role in the British royal family. A Very Royal Scandal follows both the royal and the renowned broadcaster in the leadup to the interview, the groundbreaking event itself and the fallout in the aftermath of it that changed both Prince Andrew and Maitlis' lives.
"One night. One hour. One interview that sent shockwaves around the globe," the show's official synopsis reads. A Very Royal Scandal is the third in the A Very...Scandal anthology series, following 2018's A Very English Scandal starring Hugh Grant and 2021's A Very British Scandal, about the infamous divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argylle, played by Paul Bettany and Claire Foy.
The trailer shows both Prince Andrew and Maitlis in preparation for the interview, which the Duke of York apparently called off before reconsidering. "Get me and him in a room together, and then I can do my thing," the character of Maitlis says in the trailer.
A pre-interview exchange between the two key players, Prince Andrew and Maitlis, shows the royal telling the longtime journalist "I've been warned about you," the character of Prince Andrew says in a voiceover. "You have a bit of a reputation." Maitlis then cheekily responds, while sitting across from him, "Well, for you, I'll try and behave."
Before the interview, the Duke of York asserts "I'm going to blow this out of the water." The trailer then shows the actual interview and then its aftermath, during which Maitlis says "I was only ever hoping to ask the right questions."
The show's first episode sees Prince Andrew attempt to declare his innocence as he finds himself at the center of a scandal surrounding his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as allegations of sexual assault from Virginia Guiffre, who accused the prince of having sex with her when she was 17 years old. The first episode sees Maitlis doing everything in her power to secure an exclusive interview with Prince Andrew.
In the second episode, Maitlis runs into obstacles while attempting to land the interview, but, after much anticipation, the conversation goes forward. But, according to Amazon Prime, "the meeting takes various twists and turns that neither Emily nor the Newsnight team could have expected."
Finally, in the series finale, the shockwaves from the infamous moment in television history are felt by Prince Andrew, his family and the institution of the monarchy. Maitlis, too, has much to consider, particularly when it comes to the future of her career and her reputation.
Maitlis served as an executive producer on A Very Royal Scandal, and the series tells the story in depth from her perspective, as well as the embattled royal.
Prince Andrew was heavily criticized for defending his friendship with pedophile Epstein, as well as his failure to mention Epstein's victims during the interview. Soon after the Newsnight interview aired, the Duke of York announced he was stepping back from public duties, and in January 2022, Queen Elizabeth stripped him of his military titles and patronages amid Guiffre's civil sexual assault lawsuit that has since been settled. Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
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A Very Royal Scandal is the second time this year that Prince Andrew's Newsnight interview has made it on screen. In April, Netflix's film Scoop was released, with Rufus Sewell playing Prince Andrew and Gillian Anderson portraying Maitlis.
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