Love, sex, secession, and succession

King Henry VIII of England is famous for his six tumultuous marriages, his break with the Roman Catholic Church, and his fondness for the ax man.

But chubby Henry as a sex symbol? History has skipped that part -- until now.

Under pressure from the pending return of HBO's "The Sopranos," Showtime has cooked up its own Sunday night family drama, "The Tudors," which follows a powerful boss (the king), his extramarital affairs, his whackings (beheadings), counseling sessions (with a church cardinal), and pending war with neighbors (France). There's also an unhappy but pampered wife (Queen Katherine of Aragon) and a scheming underling (the Duke of Buckingham).

The similarities end there. "The Tudors," a period drama that debuts next Sunday at 10 p.m., follows the early reign of King Henry when he is a slim and athletic teenager (Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars as the king). Each episode of the 10-part program will cover one year, from 1520 to 1530, when Henry is smitten with Lady Anne Boleyn and tries to divorce Queen Katherine.

Starting April 8, "The Tudors" will air one hour after "The Sopranos" opposite HBO's "Entourage" -- another series about party boys. Showtime insists it doesn't care about the competition. "It just so happened the final episodes of 'The Sopranos' are coming on. We can't hang up the 'Gone Fishing' sign," said Bob Greenblatt , Showtime's president of entertainment. "Our dramas are always on Sunday nights and we've had great success at that time."

"The Tudors" was created and written by Michael Hirst, who also wrote the screenplay for Cate Blanchett's "Elizabeth" and "The Golden Age." Hirst had never written a series for television but agreed to write a pilot for CBS. It was rejected.

Then sister network Showtime picked it up with just one question: Is any of this true?

"I plucked a figure out of the air: 85 percent ," said Hirst. "I never altered anything maliciously. It's based on historical material, if you can believe historians."

Hirst adjusted timelines, created some fictional characters, used more modern language and more body-hugging costumes from the Renaissance period rather than the "boring" Tudor period, he said. Hirst's king also has brown hair , not red . The executive producer's mission was to dispel the "unjust" image of Henry VIII as an unattractive overeater.

"When he first came to the throne, he was called the handsomest king in Christendom. He was very proud of his physique," Hirst said. "Henry's essential dilemma was that he was married to an older woman, in love with a younger one, and wanted a divorce. That's happening every day.

"My passion is to make the past real and make it resonate with people today. Traditionally, historical dramas are very wooden," he said.

The program, on a budget of $3.5 million per episode, was shot in Ireland on more than 43 sets and with 100 actors with speaking parts, including Sam Neill ("Jurassic Park") as chief adviser Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and Maria Doyle Kennedy ("The Commitments") as Queen Katherine. The producers rented about 4,000 costumes from a Spanish opera company and Warner Brothers.

"Katherine of Aragon can't wear the same thing twice," said Hirst.

Historians aren't ready to take issue with a sexed - up Tudor court, yet. "It's an interesting story to look at," said Erik Goldstein, a professor of history and international relations at Boston University. "In his youth, Henry was an elegant Renaissance man. A docu drama like this can be educational and bring history to life," he said.

"Of course, it's always best if you can stay as authentic as possible," Goldstein added.

Lara Eakins , a history buff who runs the website Tudorhistory.org, doesn't care about any discrepancies, as long as the Tudor family is honored. "I have a problem with people who watch this and take it as literal history. That's not the producer's fault," she said. "Hopefully this will get people to study the real history."

Television has generally shied away from serialized period dramas (HBO's "Rome" is one exception , but it lasted just two seasons). "Anything pre-19th century immediately has a strike against it," said Alex McNeil , author of "Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present." "Perhaps programmers assume that people think they will have to know too much history to appreciate it."

Natalie Dormer, who portrays future queen Anne Boleyn, is very familiar with the Tudor story since she grew up in England. "As soon as I got the part, the first thing I did was go to Hampton Court Palace," Dormer said, referring to the king and queen's former residence. "The waiting chamber and the great hall are still there.

"It's such an honor to play her," she added. "Henry and Anne were really the beginning of incredible religious turbulence in this country. She had strong Protestant tendencies. She stood up and challenged Henry. She was a power player, within the restraints of women being possessions."

Dormer has tried not to think about the inevitable: Anne's beheading next season, assuming the series is renewed. "I stay in the moment," she says, " and think about the next hour."

Suzanne Ryan can be reached at sryan@globe.com.