Queen of Oz is a sitcom starring Catherine Tate which was first released in 2023 by The BBC.
Tate stars as Princess Georgiana, a Royal Brat who is seen as a disgrace to her family. After puking on a child, she is considered to have gone too far and is shipped off to Australia, which has just elected a republican prime minister, to both shut the country up and to keep her out of the Royals' hairs. The series is thus about her struggling in her new role and maintaining her popularity with the population.
Tropes in this series:
- Accidental Misnaming: Episode 2 shows us how unimportant Georgiana regards her sexual conquests by having her struggle to remember the name of her latest, calling him names such as "Josh", "Jack", and "Joel" before being told that his actual name is "Augustus".
- Actor Allusion: Queen Georgiana at one point admonishes one of her staff by asking if he was a Time Lord. Catherine Tate is notable for having played companion Donna Noble in Doctor Who, which is where the concept of a Time Lord comes from.
- Arranged Marriage: In Episode 3, Freddy informs Georgie that she has to marry or get forced out of the family and makes her go through a list of candidates.
- Artistic License – Military: Although the show is about a British royal exiled to Australia, the opening titles feature Belgian cavalry on parade.
- Awful Wedded Life: Bernard says that he agreed to come out of retirement and move all the way to Australia because he realised he hated his wife and wanted to be far away from her.
- Bookends: The series begins and ends with a plot-important scene of Georgiana puking - in the first episode, her puking on a child is used to justify her being sent over to Australia, whilst in the last episode, she puking whilst celebrating the fact that she has gotten out of another tricky situation is used to hint that she might be pregnant.
- The Bully: Episode 4 features Georgiana come across her old bully Jessica, who used to call her fat and call her derogatory terms such as "koala ears" and "Princess Pubes", and she hosts a dinner party to revel in how miserable Jessica's life presumably was. By the end of it, Georgiana has pissed off Jessica enough that she falls back on the old habit, calling her a "four-eyed ginger fatty with an escaping minge". After she has an impromptu birth, however, she admits that her life was a bit of a mess, involving fighting her parents, and being kicked out of uni for drugs, and prostitution, and they seemingly agree to part on relatively amiable terms... until it is revealed that Georgiana has apparently leaked her past to the press.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: Georgiana certainly considers Teddy's middle name of Gorm to be an embarrassing one.
- The Exile: Georgiana is such an embarrassment that the Queen and government force through legislation that will send her away to Australia and keep her there for the foresseable future.
- Freudian Excuse: Georgiana's attitude seems to stem from a combination of bullies and her parents, who neglected her in favour of her brother Frederick.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Once she becomes Queen, Georgiana does not improve her bratty behaviour, uninterested in the state of affairs, believing that poverty isn't an actual problem, and being abusive towards her staff.
- Kangaroos Represent Australia: Being a show set in Australia, kangaroos are a given - the opening has a brief scene of two of them fighting and the second episode features Georgiana going out on a kangaroo hunt.
- Lady Drunk: Georgiana has a nasty history of hangovers and is only rarely seen without a glass of alcohol in her hand. The show even starts when, suffering from a hangover, she pukes on a kid.
- Malicious Misnaming: Georgiana can't be bothered to learn people's names and constantly mangles Weiwei's name while calling Craig "Matthew".
- Nervous Wreck: Teddy's mother, who has a tendency to freak out at any sudden movements. Before she got her dog Clint, she was even more highly strung.
- Newscaster Cameo: Episodes are interspersed with commentary from real British and Australian media figures acting — alongside man-on-the-street interviews — as a Greek Chorus to comment on the plot.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Richard Steele is a send-up of Rupert Murdoch, being an Australian news mogrel more interested in giving the people what they want more than what they need news-wise.
- Noodle Incident: According to Georgiana, she and Macaulay Culkin were once arrested, although she doesn't go into much detail on this.
- Not What It Looks Like: Queen Georgiana is forced to have an arranged marriage or she'll lose her throne and be excommunicated by the royal family. She's under huge pressure for the day to be perfect, but then her groom collapses and dies from an allergic reaction. She stabs him with his Epi-Pen in a fit of anger that everything's ruined, but to the TV cameras and watching public, it looks like she was desperately trying to save his life. Her popularity skyrockets and her position is assured.
- Parental Favoritism: Princess Georgiana claims that her parents preferred Freddy, who was their golden child, and neglected her as a result.
- Plot Allergy: Teddy's allergy to sesame seed, which proves important when he consumes a wrap containing tahini (which is made from sesame seeds) and promptly collapses and dies from it in the middle of his wedding to Georgiana.
- Royal Brat: Princess Georgiana is such a shame to the Royals that she has to be shipped off to Australia, is constantly hung over, and is rude to the staff.
- Sentenced to Down Under: The plot of the show involves Georgiana being seen as such a shame that she is sent off to Australia, which has recently elected a Republican Prime Minister, to keep them quiet.
- Sibling Rivalry: Georgiana and Freddy despise each other, with Georgie being resentful of her brother's status as the golden child and Freddy being embarrassed by her antics.
- Spare to the Throne: Princess Georgiana's personality may be explained by the fact that she isn't the heir to the throne but rather her brother Freddy. She even points out that her being made the Monarch to Australia would cause a constitutional crisis from this reason, although she is told by Michael that it has been taken care of.
- Surprise Party: Marc once stumbled on a surprise party that was being held for his cousin Luke. He didn't expect it however and ends up shooting his Uncle Cliff in shock.
- Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Princess Georgiana is not a hero to root for at the very least, but she is our protagonist.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot:
- The very first episode has Georgina visibly puke twice, firstly on a scale model of Buckingham Palace made by a young girl, then on the girl herself.
- The last episode has Georgiana visibly puking once again, with the implication that this is her Morning Sickness kicking in.
- Wedding Finale: The final episode of Series 1 features the Arranged Marriage between Georgiana and Teddy. Despite Georgiana's hopes that it would go well, Teddy ends up dying of an allergic reaction.
