Kate O'Flynn, best known for her Emmy-nominated turn as the awkward Town Hall employee Patricia in Apple TV's horror comedy "Widow's Bay," previously delivered a very different performance as Princess Mary in "My Lady Jane," an eight-episode Prime Video fantasy series. The article argues that despite "Widow's Bay" earning her wider acclaim this year, "My Lady Jane" is the more rewatchable of the two, thanks to its blend of historical fiction, comedy, romance and fantasy.

"My Lady Jane," based on the novel by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows, offers an alternative history in which Lady Jane Grey (Emily Bader) and her husband Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel) survive rather than being executed after her brief reign as England's "Nine Day Queen." Set in the 1550s but told with modern, pop-culture-infused narration and nods to films such as "The Goonies" and "The Princess Bride," the series also introduces a fantasy element in the form of persecuted shapeshifters called Ethians. O'Flynn plays Princess Mary as a ruthless, scheming antagonist who poisons her brother King Edward and plots against Jane, a role the article contrasts sharply with her more socially timid "Widow's Bay" character, Patricia.