Netf lix is ‘spooked by Crown backlash’
NETFLIX is in crisis over the backlash to the latest series of its mega-budget drama The Crown.
The streaming giant is said to be ‘spooked’ by the outrage that some storylines have caused – even before it has been broadcast next month.
netflix, which spends £11.5 million per episode on the show, which is one of its biggest global hits, is about to launch series five.
it will cover the years from 1991 to 1997, and will include details of Diana’s Panorama interview in 1995.
King Charles, played by Dominic West, is the dominant figure in the drama. He is shown lobbying Prime Minister John Major in a bizarre attempt to force his mother’s abdication.
it also depicts Charles bitterly arguing with Diana as their divorce looms, and romancing Camilla, now Queen Consort, including a dramatisation of the notorious ‘ tampongate’ phone call.
a production source said that media outrage over inaccuracies – and the lack of sensitivity in airing the series so close to the death of the Queen – is ‘spooking’ the broadcaster.
The source said: ‘ The show has never been about sensationalism but it has also always been a drama. For the first years it seemed that everyone was happy to tolerate it.’
The Crown, created and written by Peter Morgan, has been a hit for netflix since it was first released in 2016.
But the source said Morgan had become increasingly ‘uncomfortable’ as the series of The Crown edged closer to the present day.
They said: ‘The truth is that it was easier to write the earlier series because, firstly, there is a wealth of historical documentation, plus a consensus over more of what happened, and you can be more broad brush dramatically and people don’t find it hurtful.
‘Peter is always trying to get to the truth. There is always reams and reams of research.
‘However, people are more loose-lipped about Princess Margaret 50 years ago than John Major in 1991.
‘Peter is very aware of all of it and it is a struggle. He insisted on announcing that series five would be the last, even though netflix didn’t want to announce it. it didn’t want to kill the golden goose.
‘Then, a few months, later he had changed his mind and he said that he was writing series six. But this will be it. He won’t go any further towards the present day. it’s already uncomfortable enough.’
The source added: ‘He is quite traumatised by the criticism. He has not done anything to be sensational. The show would be a different show if he sought the sensational.
‘He has not sought to trash the reputation of the Royal Family – i mean, he accepted a
CBE. i think we can all accept that’s not going to turn into a knighthood.’
it can be revealed that the scripts of series five were rewritten last year in the wake of revelations about Martin Bashir and how he manipulated Diana into giving the interview via a dirty tricks campaign.
in the original script, actress Elizabeth Debicki – who plays the late princess – would have been seen giving the interview and speaking the words that Diana said.
But all that was taken out after revelations about Bashir’s deceit, exposed in an inquiry led by Lord Dyson published in May last year.
instead, Bashir is seen convincing her to talk, but the interview itself isn’t shown.
However, she is seen cooperating with andrew Morton on the Diana: Her True Story book and seen briefing tabloid journalists. She’s also seen bombarding lover Hasnat Khan with telephone calls.
Makers Left Bank Pictures are now filming series six and will not be showing the car crash which killed Diana, although she will be seen at the Ritz with Dodi.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment. netflix did not respond.
‘He is traumatised by the criticism’