Haven't seen the showtime version yet, so can't compare that part.
The series is okay, not very good, not very bad. While not historically accurate, it does set the culture and society for the period correctly. Actual events may have occurred differently, but you can imagine the intrigue, arranged marriages and overall power struggle could have been real. Cinematics in general were good. Direction not so good, see below.
What ruins the series for me is the absolute bad acting overall. Seems like casting was mostly done for the looks of the actors and not their acting abilities. Some cringe-worthy performances. Like they are reading from the script in hand with no expression or feeling. The opening scene almost made me turn off the episode and skip the rest of the series. Girl wakes up in a pool of (her own) blood. Then to run around the house with a clean white nightgown. This kind of continuity error doesn't make for a good first impression.
What ruins the series for me is the absolute bad acting overall. Seems like casting was mostly done for the looks of the actors and not their acting abilities. Some cringe-worthy performances. Like they are reading from the script in hand with no expression or feeling. The opening scene almost made me turn off the episode and skip the rest of the series. Girl wakes up in a pool of (her own) blood. Then to run around the house with a clean white nightgown. This kind of continuity error doesn't make for a good first impression.