The Netflix original series Queen Cleopatra chronicles the life of its titular subject, Cleopatra VII of Egypt, and its popularity has viewers wondering whether there will be a Queen Cleopatra season 2. Released in May 2023, Queen Cleopatra is a docudrama miniseries, in which the life, rule, and influence of Cleopatra VII are discussed and depicted over the course of four episodes. The format of the show mixes dramatic portrayals — fictionalized scripted reenactments with actors in the roles of Cleopatra, Mark Antony, Julius Caesar, Augustine, and others — and talking-head interviews with historians and other academics with expertise on the iconic figure and the events of her reign.
Queen Cleopatra was executive produced by Jada Pinkett Smith, who also narrates the series, as the second installment of her African Queens franchise. Like the first installment, African Queens: Njinga, Queen Cleopatra is also directed by Tina Gharavi. While the prior series, which debuted in February 2023, received mostly positive reviews (via Rotten Tomatoes), the follow-up has been heavily panned, resulting in a critic score of only 20% (via Rotten Tomatoes). That combined with the backlash against Queen Cleopatra‘s “Blackwashing” casting makes the likelihood of a second season slim. However, the series being among the top TV shows streaming on Netflix in its first week is good for its chances.
Queen Cleopatra Will Not Get A Season 2
Regardless of its critical reception, its ratings on Netflix, and any controversies involving the series, Queen Cleopatra season 2 is not going to happen for a number of simple reasons. The first is that it’s a miniseries and wraps up the entirety of Cleopatra VII’s life by the end of its fourth episode. Discussed by the real experts in their testimonials and portrayed by actress Adele James in the dramatization, the titular character takes her own life in the fourth and final episode of Queen Cleopatra. Still, there is some acknowledgment of the rule of her daughter, Cleopatra Selene II, who could be the subject of a sequel series.
Of course, such a follow-up would more likely just be another installment of the African Queens franchise. When it was first announced (via Deadline), African Queens was classified as an anthology series that would focus on a different historical figure who ruled part of the African continent each season. The show was given a two-season order from Netflix, with the first installment reportedly about Cleopatra and the second spotlighting Njinga, who served as the queen of the Ambundu Kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba in the 17th century. At the time of the Njinga series’ release, producers were said to be considering subjects for additional seasons of African Queens (via Deadline).
Queen Cleopatra Faced Casting Controversy & Was Accused Of Blackwashing
Possibly harming the African Queens series as a whole, Netflix is facing a lawsuit regarding Queen Cleopatra and its depiction of the titular ruler. The backlash against the series is focused on the actress chosen to play Cleopatra VII. While many scholars and historians believe the ruler had light skin due to her Macedonian Greek heritage, the producers of African Queens cast a Black actress, Adele James, in the role. Along with criticisms labeling the choice as “Blackwashing,” even the Egyptian government responded to Queen Cleopatra‘s casting controversy, with a special agency concerned with representations of the nation’s past calling the series “a blatant historical fallacy.”
The government agency defended the complaint about James’s casting by claiming that the rejection was “far from any ethnic racism, with full respect for African civilizations and for our brothers in the African continent that brings us all together.” James, who is of mixed ancestry, later recognized that Cleopatra VII was not Black but “might have been part Black, absolutely,” and she responded to the Egyptian government agency’s issue with her casting as “kind of a them problem.” After Egyptian lawyer Mahmoud al-Semary sued Netflix over the representation of Cleopatra VII in Queen Cleopatra, James further denounced the controversy and stated about those complaining, “I feel sad for them.”
