Netflix reigns supreme
Streaming service aims high with new royal drama The Crown, writes CLAIRE HENDERSON
Netflix is producing some top-quality shows for the small screen, and new series The Crown might just swoop in and rule over them all.
The 10-part drama takes viewers to London, to tell the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world – Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street – through the experience of Queen Elizabeth II. With the tagline “two houses, two courts, one Crown”, it promises to be a tensionfilled tale. Writer Peter Morgan ( The
Queen, Frost/Nixon) has teamed up with Stephen Daldry ( Billy Elliott) to create what has been described as a “meticulously researched”, lavish series that is rumoured to be Netflix’s most expensive yet, with a bombshell budget of $100 million.
A young Elizabeth is played by Claire Foy, who is no stranger to period dramas – most recently playing Anne Boleyn in Wolf Hall – and Matt Smith ( Doctor Who) is an uncanny Prince Philip.
It is a biographical story, with each season exploring the political rivalries and personal intrigues across a decade of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, delving into the delicate balance between her private world and public life.
This might be royal fare but the audience won’t be mollycoddled – season one’s opener is a shocker, beginning with King George VI (Jared Harris) graphically coughing up blood into a loo bowl, as the show goes back in time to when Elizabeth was a 25-year-old newlywed princess who would soon face the daunting prospect of leading the world’s most famous monarchy after her father died from lung cancer.
She barely has time to grieve before she is thrust on to the throne and her whole life changes.
In the trailer, Prime Minister Winston Churchill (John Lithgow) offers a stern warning: “This new Elizabethan age comes at a time when mankind stands on the edge of catastrophe.”
Documenting the period from 1947 to the Suez Crisis of 1956, the story is intertwined with the tribulations of post-war Britain, and Elizabeth’s working relationship with the domineering, warhardened Churchill.
As Smith said in a recent interview: “We get to see them [the royal family] be human and exposed. At the heart of this is this really rich love story about two soulmates [the Queen and Prince Philip] who are put under great pressure about her responsibility to become Queen so early and so unexpectedly.”
The well-respected cast also includes Victoria Hamilton ( Lark Rise to Candl
eford) as the Queen Mother and Dame Eileen Atkins ( Upstairs Downstairs) as Queen Mary.
Thanks to the mega budget, it’s not surprising The
Crown looks sumptuous, and much of the money is said to have gone towards its stunning period costumes, which were the handiwork of Michele Clapton ( Game of Thrones).
If you are a fan of historical dramas that are glossy, gritty and full of juicy, accurate details, don’t miss it. The Crown Streaming from Friday on Netflix