Checkered CrownSeason 01 · In production

Stories · Season 01

Seven nights a crown almost fell.

Our first season brings surprising moments from history to life in short animated adventures. Follow mysterious letters, secret plans and unexpected discoveries, with the Checkered Crown cast playing a new role in every tale.

The pilot cast follows a warning letter from the council to the cellar.

Explore the first season

Season 01 episodes

The pilot is in production, with more tales in development. Our original characters play roles inspired by real people and events; dialogue is dramatized, and episode titles may change before release.

The Letter in the Cellar pilot artwork.
Episode 01
CC-101 · Pilot

The Letter in the Cellar

London · November 1605

Barrels are hidden under Parliament, and an anonymous letter reaches a lord’s supper table. The plot fails because of paper, not powder.

Explore the pilot →
Crown
King James’s council, and a spymaster who waits for the net to close.
Check
A small circle of plotters, and a man in the cellar under a false name.
In production
The company visits Florence.
Episode 02
CC-102

The Men in the Aisle

Florence · 1478

During Sunday Mass in the cathedral, a rival banking family tries to take Florence from the Medici in a single morning.

Crown
The Medici bank, which runs the city without a crown.
Check
The Pazzi, a banking house with papal friends and a plan for the aisle.
In development
The company visits Madrid.
Episode 03
CC-103

The Drawer the King Couldn’t Open

Madrid · 1578–79

A king’s secretary keeps the papers that prove what the king ordered. The most dangerous piece on the board is a drawer.

Crown
Philip II, the most powerful king in Europe, who cannot say out loud what he knows.
Check
Antonio Pérez, a secretary with a file and nowhere left to hide.
In development
The company visits The Hague.
Episode 04
CC-104

A King Can Be Fired

The Low Countries · 1581

The provinces write their king out of the law. Distance is a kind of tax, and tonight they stop paying.

Crown
Philip’s paper empire, run from far away.
Check
The States General, the clerks and the ink.
In development
The company visits Edinburgh.
Episode 05
CC-105

Three Stories for One Night

Edinburgh · 1567

A mysterious night leaves a queen facing three competing accounts. Who knows what really happened, and whose story will be believed?

Crown
Mary, Queen of Scots, trapped in her own office.
Check
Lords with rival accounts of the same night.
In development
The company visits Varennes.
Episode 06
CC-106

The Wrong Inn

France · June 1791

A royal family escapes Paris by coach in disguise, and a postmaster recognises a face he has seen on the money.

Crown
Louis XVI, a king trying to leave the map.
Check
A country town, a coin and a closed road.
In development
The company visits Sicily.
Episode 07
CC-107

The Bell at Vespers

Palermo · 1282

An evening bell becomes the signal for change. Follow a city’s people as an unexpected moment brings them together.

Crown
Charles of Anjou’s garrison, holding Sicily for a faraway king.
Check
The street, the church steps and the bell.
In development

More nights from the same ground

More places. More stories to discover.

We’re exploring more tales from the places in Season 01. These are ideas for future adventures, with release details still to come.

  • Italy: city rivalries and unexpected changes in power
  • Spain: royal secrets and messages that travel across borders
  • Low Countries: people who speak up and choices that shape a country
  • England: coded messages and changing alliances
  • Scotland: rival accounts and difficult decisions
  • France: disguises, journeys and a changing nation
  • Sicily: secret meetings and stories from the streets

How we tell them

Adventure, curiosity and care.

Different points of view

Meet people with different hopes and plans. Notice the choices they make and the clues they leave behind.

A story worth following

Each adventure begins with a question: what will happen next, and who will make the difference?

Suspense with care

History includes danger and conflict. Our tales focus on suspense, discovery and consequences without showing graphic violence.

Premiere list

Catch the pilot first.

We’ll email you when The Letter in the Cellar premieres, along with the comic and the Road. Email updates are for ages 13+. Parents can sign up for younger readers.

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