I imagine that Netflix executives are already popping champagne ahead of the November 9th release of The Crown Season 5. They’ve barely spent any money on promotion and The Crown is already receiving millions of dollars of free publicity because King Charles is a sad, petty man with no chill. You could argue that perhaps Netflix delayed the release of the posters and trailer by a few weeks out of respect for the Windsors, because QEII passed away last month. But I’m not even sure about that – this could have been the original schedule, and they were waiting until the final three weeks before the premiere to drop all of the goodies. On Monday, we got new posters for Season 5. On Thursday, we’ll get a full-length trailer. The one thing I’ll note about the posters is that I’m enjoying how they styled Dominic West to look so mealy and weak.
Anyway, this past weekend was full of Tory elders, John Major, King Charles and Prince William all throwing tantrums about Season 5 and the ‘90s storylines dramatized therein. John Major’s spokesperson released a statement fussing about how Peter Morgan never fact-checked any storyline with him (Major) and that none of The Crown’s scenes with prime ministers are ever accurate, blah blah blah. It sounded like it was written by the Tory operatives around King Charles. Well, Netflix actually responded:
The latest season of “The Crown” is on track to air on Netflix on November 9, with Imelda Staunton set to take over the role of the Queen from Olivia Colman, who portrayed her in seasons 3 and 4. According to Netflix’s description, season 5 centers around the Queen “approaching the 40th anniversary of her accession.”
Netflix responded to the furore on Monday, with a spokesperson saying in a statement: “The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events. Series 5 is a fictional dramatisation, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the royal family – one that has already been scrutinised and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians.”
Yep. The Crown is not pretending to be a documentary. But the Windsors’ insistence on nitpicking every single thing about Seasons 4 and 5 have me convinced that Peter Morgan has hit several raw nerves. “One that has already been scrutinised and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians…” Netflix could always just dramatize Charles’s Dimbleby interview word for f–king word for two episodes and let the chips fall where they may.
Posters courtesy of Netflix.
I.CANNOT.WAIT. This is what we’ve been building up to folks!! buckle your seatbelts royals, you’re in for a bumpy ride!!
trying to decide if I should take 11/10 off to watch (I have the 11th off anyway) so I can have a four day weekend to fully enjoy it. Or should I rewatch the first four seasons over the next few weeks?!!?
SAME!!!! I’ve started the rewatch inbetween horror binges but I am so freaking excited for this season. Also love the morons in the palace losing their freaking minds over this show
I’ve started my rewatch of Season 4 (forget how chilling it is). On S5 drop day, I can do two hours before work, one hour on my lunch break, and then stay up half the night. Exercise be damned. This is my priority. (And then I will rewatch slowly over the next week and parse every scene, as I always do with this series).
I could take off the 9th instead of the 10th…..Hmmm. I just want to be through it as soon as possible (in a good way, lol.)
I def need to rewatch Season 4, you’re right about how chilling it is. Maybe Season 3 as well. Maybe just the whole thing. LOL.
@Becks1 – Usually I don’t care about critics but there are a handful of shows where I want to get ahead of the reviews (or spoilers). Most of those shows drop weekly, like HoTD and Succession, both of which can be spoiled by a single headline. The Crown full season drops require a special effort to watch before the avalanche of analysis, but of course the best part is discussing it here!
The funny thing is Charles and the Tories didn’t complain about the inaccuracies in the first 3 seasons. They all loved the show.
Elizabeth-as-Diana looks utterly miserable. I don’t even need to watch her scenes to know she’s perfect in this role.
She also looks nothing like Diana.
Really? I see a striking resemblance. It’s working for me, anyhow.
She resembles Diana more than Emma Corrin — none of the actors bear a striking resemblance to the characters they’re playing but it’s the quality of the acting that makes it seem realistic.
She looks more like Diana than Kristen Stewart does, and I actually thought she was pretty good in Spencer. It’s less about physical looks and more about the mannerisms and expressions.
I understand how much people love this show, but it feels like a bad reenactment in a true-crime documentary to me. Not enough time has passed to allow for a level of distance that such a polarizing event really needs for this level of rehashing. 😬
But, for those that love it, I’m not judging at all! You have the right to enjoy it! I’m interested to hear your takes.
It’s been over 25 years since the divorce in 1996. It may seem recent to those of us who followed the events closely, but that’s plenty of distance for perspective.
What freaks me out is I was in college in the S5 timeline, and the show feels soooo historic. To me college just happened. Rewatching S4 and scenes of Di bopping around to Duran Duran just as I was doing those years and that Walkman looks like some ancient relic.
I understand that. I was just stating my opinion. I also follow the royals and have done for at least 15 years, but I just did not enjoy the later seasons of the crown. Respect your enjoyment of show and will live vicariously through the comments here when the show comes out. 😉
I agree, 25 years is enough time.
@Faround…I’m with you on that too…ESPECIALLY when the horrific treatment of H&M mirrors what happened to Princess Diana…so seeing Charles is a bit triggering for me…and Margaret Thatcher? I would be BANNED if I expressed 1/1000 what I think of her😡 Also…seeing the choices QE made in her later life…LAWD…HOW PATHETIC…so I’m with you…I ENJOYED seasons 1-3…seasons 4 & 5 will be tolerated.
I honestly think that is what makes it seem like this is such recent history – how we are seeing it play out again with H&M. Charles and Diana got married over 40 years ago, but we’re seeing the royals have not learned a damned thing since then.
Honestly, the parallels with H&M are what make this story especially relevant and even more urgent to air now.
Let’s remind people just how horrible – and possibly dangerous – the RF can be, *before* anyone else gets hurt.
(well, before anyone else gets hurt more/hurt physically. We know M has already been horribly hurt by them, emotionally and mentally.)
It’s crazy. Peter Morgan really thought he was developing an historic drama, and the BRF was like “hold my beer.”
I think the timing couldn’t be better. For those who want everyone to leave Diana alone, no timeframe will be okay. See Marilyn Monroe. To those of us who remember the 90s (to be fair, I was only 13 when she died but boy do I remember), this is excellent timing because we haven’t forgotten or romanticized that decade. I sure haven’t. This season begins in the early 90s. That was 30 years ago. I think that’s plenty of time. Also, and that’s probably a purely financial aspect, I’m the target Netflix demo for this. Elder millenials are the ones with some cash (globally speaking) to spend on streaming and this is the stuff we want to see.
These posters are amazing and tell a compelling story without any trailers to illuminate. Even someone too young to remember can see how the BRF dynamic broke against Diana and cast her out. I think Netflix’s statement is very similar to their response to all the caterwauling about S4, isn’t it? (I’m too lazy to Google.) Anyway, this is straight to the point, makes CIII and his gang of 🤡🤡🤡 look pitiful, and Netflix can pull it out, if they ever have to, and repeat it verbatim.
Oooh, love the poster with the cracks appearing! And jesus Elizabeth Debicki is eerie as Diana.
Great statement from Netflix- particularly highlighting that THERE ARE RECEIPTS for anyone who cares to look. Ding dongs.
Looking forward to seeing Dominic West. I was surprised at the casting because he is a charming good looking guy. Great actor though, so I can’t wait to see his take on Charles. I love this show.
I’m so turned off by the idea of him as Charles. Idk, I just don’t see it.
Well…they’re both unrepentant philanderers — art imitating life.
The royals want The Crown to observe a mourning period for…well, forever. But the royals themselves didn’t even appear to observe the official mourning period at the time. We kept getting photos of them looking positively giddy that the old girl was finally gone.
I hope there’s tons of direct, verified quotes from the real RF in this season. Like, remember when Tina Fey first started her Sarah Palin impressions on SNL and people thought that she couldn’t possibly be quoting Palin directly BUT SHE WAS?? I hope The Crown will do the same thing… and I think it will!
I don’t think Elizabeth looks like Diana so much as she’s managed to embody her–at least in ever still shot I’ve seen, the posture/carriage is so true to what I remember of Diana.
I think Elizabeth Debicki is going to crush this role. Just hand her an Emmy now.
I think so too — she seems to have her mannerisms, facial expressions and body language down pat.
When your family becomes a soap opera and the timeline comes up to your very recent history you really do look like what you are – a failed group of celebrities who are the stuff of TV fodder. I read the queen still believed she was appointed by God, right up until the end, and that’s why she wouldn’t abdicate even in her very last days. This programme makes a farce of their holy remoteness and shows them up for the bog standard people they are, hence the hate from Charles et al. They’re losing any specialness as the programme catches up with them.
I don’t watch it. Does anyone on here rate it? I know it’s popular.
@Sparrow….This show had the time/budget/insider knowledge to put on a MAGNIFICENT production!
I am thinking of watching it now! I’ll have to start at the beginning. Thank you.
@sparrow it is really excellent. The first two seasons are really good, the third season dragged a bit in parts for me bc its kind of in between, its less about the Queen and Philip and more about the children as they are becoming adults but still not all the way there, so its kind of an odd season IMO. The fourth season though….*chefs kiss* The depictions of Margaret are really good and interesting.
My favorite line though does come from the third season, at Edward VIII’s funeral, where Wallis says something to charles like “beware of your family” and he says “they mean well” and she says “no they don’t.”
Overall some episodes are better than others but as a whole, its an excellent excellent series. But you’re right it absolutely makes them look….well, like normal people. That was good for the first two seasons, it humanized the queen and Philip and the royals seemed to like that, even with the not-so-subtle allusions to his affairs, but now that we’re deep in the Diana days….they don’t like that anymore, LOL.
You best get started, sparrow. You do have time to get caught up before Nov 9. Savor and enjoy!
I wonder if they gave Dominic that florid complexion that KCIII has most of the time?
The one where he looks like he can’t remember what a flannel looks like and picked up a scouring pad?
Lol the Netflix could even be paying DM to drum up all this press and drama to increase ratings!
Can. Not. Wait.
I’m so excited lol I’m eating all this anticipation up with a spoon 😂
That shade of green in the background feels off. It’s not a shade I associate with the royal circus and I’d love to know why it was chosen for the posters.
@SURE- It’s actually more of a green-gray. A dull, drab, grayish-green, it actually reminds me of the fetal pig I disected in high school. So I might even describe it as corpse-like, which I think it really fits the vile “men-in-gray(ish-green)”; dull, lifeless, unexciting, undynamic, death warmed over. And always in the background, just like this shade is in the background of all the posters. A perfect(ly awful) color to represent the monarchy.