HBO has come under fire for their “disgusting” portrayal of the royal family, especially eight-year-old Prince George, in a new satire cartoon inspired by Family Guy writer Gary Janetti.
The new cartoon series features the royal family as seen through the eyes of Prince George and launched on HBO Max last week.
Janetti, who previously worked on Family Guy and Will & Grace, voices George, while Alan Cumming voices his butler Owen and Game Of Thrones actress Sophie Turner plays Princess Charlotte.
Orlando Bloom will be the voice of Harry, with Condola Rashad as Meghan, Tom Hollander as both Philip and Charles, Alan Cumming as George’s butler Owen and Frances De La Tour as the Queen.
The series is written and executive produced by Janetti and produced by 20th Century Fox Television.
“I’m thrilled to be working at HBO Max and bringing them yet another series about a family ruthlessly fighting for the throne,” Janetti said.
Each episode will show George finding his path as a young prince in modern times, featuring facets of his life including his family’s corgis, the 775 rooms of Buckingham Palace, and attending primary school with non-royals.
“We’re so excited to bring the world Gary’s created on Instagram over to HBO Max, where our viewers can discover what his Instagram fans already know – that George can be hilarious, shocking, and surprisingly sweet,” said Sarah Aubrey of HBO Max.
“We can’t wait to see what Gary does with a bigger canvas to paint on than just a 1:1 square.”
Watch the trailer
The first trailer for The Prince was released last week and is based on writer Gary Janetti’s viral Instagram account, which features memes about the royal family, focusing on Prince George as a scathing, sassy and sharp-tongued commentator.
The show, which will air on US streaming service HBO Max, focuses on the imagined inner workings of the royal family through the eyes of the young prince, including star-studded play dates during which he sips on martinis and interacts with his siblings.
The trailer pokes fun at high-ranking royals including The Queen, Prince Charles and his sons, William and Harry.
You can watch the trailer below:
The royal tea is piping hot. ☕️
— HBO Max (@hbomax) July 28, 2021
Prince George spills all about life inside Buckingham Palace in #ThePrince, streaming tomorrow on HBO Max. pic.twitter.com/sx9d1LXjP5
HBO face backlash
The US streaming giant has faced backlash from fans of the royal family on social media whi didn’t take kindly to jokes at the expense of the monarchy.
One Twitter user wrote: “Using a child like this is disgusting. Who on earth gave this the green light?”
“I am so disappointed that HBO will choose to work with someone like Gary Janetti. And I am disappointed by all the celebrities voicing characters in his show,” said another.
A third added: “Bullying children for comedy value. Utterly disgusting. The writer and cast need to think about if this was their children.”
“This is wrong you should never use a child's image like this EVER,” added another.
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