The Crown (TV series)
The Crown is a historical drama television series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, created and principally written by Peter Morgan and produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television for Netflix. Morgan developed the series from his film The Queen (2006) and his stage play The Audience (2013), which also focus on Elizabeth.
The Crown
- Seasons 1–2
- Claire Foy
- Matt Smith
- Vanessa Kirby
- Eileen Atkins
- Jeremy Northam
- Victoria Hamilton
- Ben Miles
- Greg Wise
- Jared Harris
- John Lithgow
- Alex Jennings
- Lia Williams
- Anton Lesser
- Matthew Goode
- Seasons 3–4
- Olivia Colman
- Tobias Menzies
- Helena Bonham Carter
- Ben Daniels
- Jason Watkins
- Marion Bailey
- Erin Doherty
- Charles Dance
- Josh O'Connor
- Emma Corrin
- Gillian Anderson
- Stephen Boxer
- Emerald Fennell
- Seasons 5–6
- Imelda Staunton
- Jonathan Pryce
- Lesley Manville
- Dominic West
- Elizabeth Debicki
- Jonny Lee Miller
- Olivia Williams
- Claudia Harrison
- Natascha McElhone
- Marcia Warren
- Salim Daw
- Khalid Abdalla
- Bertie Carvel
- Ed McVey
- Luther Ford
- Meg Bellamy
- Rupert Gregson-Williams (s. 1–2)
- Lorne Balfe (s. 2)
- Martin Phipps (s. 3–6)
English
6
60 (list of episodes)
- Peter Morgan
- Stephen Daldry
- Andy Harries
- Philip Martin
- Suzanne Mackie
- Matthew Byam Shaw
- Robert Fox
- Tanya Seghatchian
- Nina Wolarsky
- Allie Goss
- Benjamin Caron
- Andy Stebbing
- Martin Harrison
- Michael Casey
- Andrew Eaton
- Oona O'Beirn
- Faye Ward
United Kingdom
39–72 minutes
4 November 2016 –
14 December 2023
The series consists of six seasons, spanning almost six decades, beginning shortly before the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten in 1947, and ending with the 2005 wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. The principal cast of the series has been changed every two seasons; Elizabeth, for example, was played by Claire Foy in the first and second seasons, Olivia Colman in the third and fourth, and Imelda Staunton in the fifth and sixth.
Filming took place at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, with location shooting taking place in the United Kingdom and internationally. The first season was released by Netflix on 4 November 2016; the sixth was released in two parts, the first on 16 November 2023 and the second on 14 December 2023.
The Crown has been praised by critics for its acting, directing, writing, cinematography, and production values, although its historical inaccuracies have received some criticism, particularly in the latter half of the series's run. It has won numerous awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and two Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Drama.
The Crown portrays the life of Queen Elizabeth II from her wedding in 1947 to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,[3] until the early 21st century:[4][5]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
In November 2014, it was announced that Netflix was to adapt the 2013 stage play The Audience into a television series.[14] Peter Morgan, who wrote the 2006 film The Queen and the play, is the main scriptwriter for The Crown.[15] The directors of the first season are Stephen Daldry, Philip Martin, Julian Jarrold, and Benjamin Caron.[16] The first 10-part season was the most expensive drama produced by Netflix and Left Bank Pictures to date, costing at least £100 million.[17][18][19] A second season was commissioned,[20][21] with the series intended to span 60 episodes over six seasons.[3] By October 2017, "early production" had begun on an anticipated third and fourth season,[22] and by the following January, Netflix confirmed the series had been renewed for third and fourth seasons.[12]
In January 2020, Morgan announced that the series had been renewed for a fifth and final season. Speaking to ending the series with five seasons, after it had been intended to last six, Morgan said while crafting the stories for season five, "it has become clear to me that this is the perfect time and place to stop"; Netflix and Sony supported Morgan's decision.[4] However, in July 2020, Netflix announced that the series would receive a sixth season as originally intended. Morgan said that when the storylines were being discussed for season five, "it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons". He added that the final two seasons would enable them "to cover the same period in greater detail".[23] As of 2020, the estimated production budget of The Crown has been reported to be $260 million, making it one of the most expensive television series ever.[24]
Casting[edit]
By November 2014, Claire Foy had entered negotiations to portray Queen Elizabeth II.[25] By May 2015, Vanessa Kirby was in negotiations to portray Princess Margaret.[26] In June 2015, John Lithgow was cast as Winston Churchill and Matt Smith was cast as Prince Philip, while Foy was confirmed as Queen Elizabeth II.[27] Also starring in the first season were Victoria Hamilton, Jared Harris, and Eileen Atkins.[28] Foy reprised her role as the young Queen in cameos in seasons 4, 5 and 6. For her appearance in "48:1", the eighth episode of season 4, Foy won an Emmy.[29][30]
The producers recast the continuing roles with older actors every two seasons, as the timeline moves forward.[31] In October 2017, Olivia Colman was cast as Queen Elizabeth II for the third and fourth seasons.[22] By January 2018, Helena Bonham Carter and Paul Bettany were in negotiations to portray Princess Margaret and Prince Philip, respectively, for these seasons.[32][9] However, by the end of the month Bettany was forced to drop out due to the time commitment required.[33] By the end of March 2018, Tobias Menzies was cast as Prince Philip for the third and fourth seasons.[34] In early May 2018, Bonham Carter was confirmed to have been cast, alongside Jason Watkins as Prime Minister Harold Wilson.[35] The next month, Ben Daniels was cast as Tony Armstrong-Jones for the third season,[36] along with Erin Doherty joining the series as Princess Anne.[37] A month later, Josh O'Connor and Marion Bailey were cast as Prince Charles and the Queen Mother, respectively, for the third and fourth seasons.[38] In October 2018, Emerald Fennell was cast as Camilla Shand.[39] In December 2018, Charles Dance was cast as Louis Mountbatten.[40] In April 2019, Emma Corrin was cast as Lady Diana Spencer for the fourth season.[41] Gillian Anderson, who had been rumoured since January 2019 to be in talks to portray Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season, was officially confirmed for the role in September 2019.[42][43][44]
In January 2020, Imelda Staunton was announced as succeeding Colman as the Queen in the fifth season, with her role in the final season reported in July.[4][23] Also in July 2020, Lesley Manville was announced as portraying Princess Margaret,[23][45] and the following month, Jonathan Pryce and Elizabeth Debicki had been cast as Prince Philip and Diana, Princess of Wales, respectively.[46][47] In October 2020, Dominic West was in talks to play Prince Charles.[48] His casting was confirmed in April 2021 when the start date for production of the fifth season was announced.[49][50] In June 2021, Jonny Lee Miller was cast as John Major.[51] During the same month, Olivia Williams confirmed during an interview that she had joined the cast as Camilla Parker Bowles for the series's fifth and sixth seasons.[52] In July 2021, actress Marcia Warren joined the cast during filming as Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.[53] That same month, the casting of Claudia Harrison as Princess Anne was also confirmed.[54] In September 2021, Khalid Abdalla and Salim Daw were announced to play Dodi Fayed and Mohamed Al-Fayed, respectively.[55] Later that month, it was confirmed that Timothy Dalton had been cast as Peter Townsend.[56] In January 2022, Humayun Saeed was cast as Dr Hasnat Khan.[57]
A casting search for actors to play teenage Prince William and Prince Harry in the sixth season began in March 2022. The new actor for Prince William would replace Senan West, who was cast as a young Prince William for season five, with the other new castings for the fifth season expected to remain for the sixth season.[58] In April 2022, a casting call was posted for a young Catherine Middleton to be portrayed in the sixth season.[59]
In September 2022, it was announced that Rufus Kampas and Ed McVey would portray Prince William, and Meg Bellamy would portray Catherine Middleton.[60]
Release[edit]
The series's first two episodes were released in the United Kingdom on 1 November 2016.[102] The first season was released worldwide in its entirety on 4 November 2016.[103][104] The second season was released on 8 December 2017.[105] The third season was released on 17 November 2019.[106] The fourth season was released on 15 November 2020.[107] The fifth season was released on 9 November 2022.[78][108] The sixth and final season was released in two parts; the first on 16 November 2023 and the second on 14 December 2023.[109]
The first season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2017[110] and worldwide on 7 November.[111] The second season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 22 October 2018[112] and worldwide on 13 November 2018.[113] The third season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2020[114] and worldwide the following day.[115] The fourth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 1 November 2021[116] and worldwide the following day.[117]
Costume exhibit[edit]
Costumes from both The Crown and The Queen's Gambit were displayed by Brooklyn Museum as part of its virtual exhibition The Queen and the Crown.[136][137] Costumes and props from The Crown were exhibited at the auctioneers Bonhams in Mayfair from January to 4 February 2024 ahead of a live sale on 7 February.[138]
Potential prequel series[edit]
In April 2022, it was reported that Netflix and Left Bank were having preliminary conversations about a prequel.[139] It is believed that the series will span a period of nearly 50 years, starting with the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 and ending around the wedding of Princess Elizabeth in 1947. The series will also reportedly cover the reigns of the four kings who reigned during that period: Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, and George VI.[140]