Netflix's Queen Cleopatra launches with 2% on Rotten Tomatoes

The New Netflix series Queen Cleopatra has launched with a score of just 2% on Rotten Tomatoes following backlash.

Produced by Jada Pickett Smith, the Queen Cleopatra docudrama TV series launched on Netflix on 10 May 2023 and tells the tale of Egypt’s last pharaoh, Cleopatra. Unfortunately, before it was even released on the streaming platform, it was met with huge controversy, to say the least.

For starters, it was already facing legal action from an Egyptian lawyer via a case filed by the Public Prosecutor to what they believed to be the historically inaccurate casting of Cleopatra by appointing Black actress Adele James in the role.

The director of Queen Cleopatra, Tina Gharavi responded to the legal action and described the controversy surrounding the casting choice as “laughable” in addition to accusations of “blackwashing” the historical figure.

What’s more, as reported by Dexerto, it seems that Queen Cleopatra might be the latest victim of a review bombing agenda scoring just 2% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the worst-reviewed shows of all time. That being said, as is often the case with review bombing, scores may not always be an accurate representation of that product in question.

However, while the audience score currently sits at just 2% and no doubt with user reviews such as “as a history nerd idk how this was acceptable,” there does appear to be an agenda. Yet, many of the user reviews have genuine criticism of the show.

“Plot was meh, but the so-called 'experts' ruined it for me. Shouldn't be advertised as a documentary, more Bridgerton-esque b/c of the historical fiction aspects of it,” said Mary R.

“Netflix's Cleopatra documentary fails to do justice to the fascinating life and legacy of one of history's most captivating figures,” adds Tatyana R. “If this is a documentary, then so is Game of Thrones,” exclaimed Damien C.

There are of course some positive comments, such as Seneca, who said: “I liked it! I thought it was a fun way to show off Cleopatra whether it's 100% accurate or not.” Fab G says that they: “Loved it, Great casting, finally a believable Cleopatra, a real African queen, what an interesting life she had, intelligent, powerful women for sure.”

So what have the critics scored Netflix’s, Queen Cleopatra? Well, that hasn't faired much better either, which might suggest that a lot of the genuine criticism of this show appears to be aligned.

The critical score of Queen Cleopatra is currently at just 10%. “As a pure drama, it would all have been absolutely no worse than plenty of other things. Albeit not good ones,” said Hugo Rifkind of The Times. “... It's too soapy for serious history fans, and not enough of a soap for viewers who like juicy historical dramas,” explained Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph.

The one positive review for the show from critics was from Graeme Tuckett of Stuff.co.nz who said: “British actor Adele James is by far the best thing about the show,” which doesn't sound all that convincing as a headline.

If you’d like to watch Queen Cleopatra for yourself, it’s available to stream on Netflix now.