'The Royals' Casting Dept. Is On Fleek

There are many worse things than having your likeness compared to that of Elizabeth Hurley. Of course, The Royals star Alexandra Park is also playing the character on E's new scripted drama who inspired one of this year's greatest lines on television: "Royal. Beaver." So, she's doing pretty well right now; and many who indulged in E's soapiest venture yet last Sunday were left wondering if the gorgeous ladies behind Princess Eleanor and The Queen on The Royals might actually be related. Parks and Hurley certainly aren't related in any way that would have them sharing a Sunday roast together at their nan's house or anything, but could they be distant cousins of some sort?

Well, with British royal bloodlines, anything is possible. But Hurley and Parks are what might be called "commoners" by Queen Helena, and what might be called "famous, gorgeous actresses" by us actual commoners, so short of finally indulging in that Ancestry.com membership every girl dreams of, I'm going to settle on, no... this is just some top-notch royal casting. Good news though: When not playing mum and daughter, the two seem to be great pals behind the scenes.

Best Mother/Daughter Impression

Parks is actually Australian — as proven by one of her few other television credit's being Australian newcomer staple, Home and Away — so we can be fairly certain that she's not the secret lovechild of Hurley. But that doesn't mean they're not doing their very best impression on social media. Parks clearly adores her onscreen mother, and Hurley says she's first in line to adopt Parks "if her real mummy puts her up for adoption."

Seriously. Good. Casting.

Behind-the-Scenes Royalty

It looks like these two were thick as identical thieves from the very beginning. Parks just doesn't just look like Hurley, she looks up to her too. She told E!, "The biggest royal etiquette we had was Elizabeth because she's royalty herself... Elizabeth was very much the go-to person."

If only Hurley could share some of the tabloid wisdom she's inevitably learned over the years with Princess Eleanor. At least she can show newcomer Parks, who says that The Royals is her "first lead role in anything, let alone a huge American TV show," the Hollywood royalty ropes.

Joan Collins Fits Perfectly in This Fictional Family Tree Too

And, just when you thought this fictional lineage couldn't get anymore glamorous, Joan Collins will be popping up on The Royals as Queen Helena's own mother soon.

The raven hair, the sultry eyes, the crooked grins... it's too early to tell if The Royals will hit its marks all over the boards, but we can give a serious credit to casting directors, Victor Jenkins and Kelly Valentine Henry. You kinda killed it with this one, you guys.

Images: Jim Marks/E!