TV for grownups: ‘Julia’, ‘The Crown’
Netflix will stream the sixth and final season of “The Crown” in two installments. The first four episodes arrive tonight and the final six will appear on Dec. 16.
We all know how it ends. In fact, this final chapter wrestles with two of the more welldocumented royal dramas of the past generation: the sudden death of Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) in 1997 and the long-anticipated demise of Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) in 2022.
Dominic West (“The Wire”) returns as Charles, Prince of Wales. “The Crown” did a great job of casting younger and more awkward versions of Charles in past seasons. West often seems too dashing, handsome and decisive in the role of a dithering standby, married to a woman he doesn’t want and pining for the lover (Olivia Williams) he can’t have.
Look for Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip. He returns in the third season of “Slow Horses,” streaming on Apple TV+ on Nov. 29. Lesley Manville, now in the PBS “Masterpiece” series “World on Fire,” returns as the queen’s sister and occasional headache, Princess Margaret. ›
Rooted in history and great to look at, “The Crown” has very much been a show for grownups. The same can be said of “Julia,” returning for a second season on Max.
Now a bona-fide television star as well as a bestselling author, Julia Child (Sarah Lancashire) may have become just too big a fish for her small Boston public television pond.
David Hyde Pierce returns as her husband, Paul, whose sudden removal from the diplomatic corps continues to offer backstory and intrigue. Bebe Neuwirth, as Child’s friend Avis, enjoys a late-in-life romance this season. Watching these two “Frasier” stars so excellently cast makes the new reboot of that Kelsey Grammer series seem even more sad and beside the point.
Not unlike “The Gilded Age,” this series adds a subplot that casts its characters in a progressive and racially tolerant light that may be as much wishful thinking as actual history. Alice (Brittany Bradford) dreams up a women’s talkshow panel that predates “The View” by about 40 years.
And Julia’s editor, Judith (Fiona Glascott), remains an indispensable part of the “French Chef” family while working overtime to help her boss and mentor Blanche Knopf (Judith Light) as she loses her sight. Rachel Bloom (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”) arrives and plays against type as a no-nonsense former CBS producer.
“Julia” has frothy fun playing with period details. Season two will bring Julia’s team to the Johnson White House kitchen, and a trip to Paris has Judith fending off the flirtations of composer/singer Jacques Brel, while Avis spends a weighty afternoon with philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Too much? Of course. But at only eight episodes, “Julia” is never enough.
To recap, “The Crown” offers much to admire while “Julia” has much to love.