And during the fourth season the wife count will reach six.
Showtime has ordered a 10-episode fourth season of its royal series, The Tudors.
Production on the period saga will begin in June in Dublin, with star Jonathan Rhys Meyers (nominated twice for Golden Globes for best actor) returning as King Henry VIII. The final campaign will focus on Henry's relationship with his last two wives, No. 5 Catherine Howard and No. 6 Catherine Parr, and his descent into madness. The fourth season is slated to begin in spring 2010, bringing the series to its conclusion with 38 installments.
Series creator Michael Hirst also will be and will have single-handedly written all of the series one-hour episodes, when The Tudors takes its final bow.
The third season, examining the rebellion in the north and Henry's third and fourth wives, Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves, debuted April 5 to strong Nielsens.
"I'm thrilled to complete the saga of Henry VIII as reconceived by Michael Hirst. He and Jonathan Rhys Meyers have breathed new life into the costume drama by making it both modern in sensibility but also faithful to history," said Showtime president of Entertainment Robert Greenblatt," in a statement. "I think we proved that even after 500 years this is a great story."
The Tudors is an Ireland-Canada co-production, executive-produced by Morgan O'Sullivan for Octagon Films; Benjamin Silverman and Teri Weinberg for Reveille Productions; Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan for Working Title Films, and Sheila Hockin; Showtime presents the series in association with Peace Arch Entertainment.
