The Crown

The Crown: Deconstructing the Coronation

The lavish ten-part Netflix series became another outstanding triumph for writer Peter Morgan and a distinguished team . Critics noted a “startling attention to detail in everything from costumes to sets” and thought it hard to see how it could be better.

The show set out to tell the inside story of the most famous addresses in the world, Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street, and it did just that, exploring the intrigues, love lives and machinations of post-war Britain.

BBC releases trailer for new Rebecca Hall drama The Listeners

Rebecca Hall and Ollie West stand against a fence in a field, the sky behind them is blue and cloudless. Hall is in her early 40s, with short brown hair, light to medium skin tone and a turquoise jumper, Ollie West is in his late teens

Rebecca Hall (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire) stars as English teacher Claire, whose life begins to unravel when she hears ‘the hum’. Tensions rise between her and her husband Paul (Prasanna Puwanarajah, The Crown) and daughter Ashley (Mia Tharia, Phoenix Rise). Doctor after doctor is left stumped by Claire’s condition, leaving her more frustrated and confused than ever.

TV's leading lights on what makes Britain so creative

Shonda Rhimes looks into the camera against a black backdrop, mouth open as if halfway through conversation

The vastly influential showrunner Shonda Rhimes may be American, but she knows a lot about the British way of life. You need only watch her TV blockbuster Bridgerton to prove that point.

As for Britain’s creative edge – the theme of this year’s RTS London Convention – Rhimes puts it down to a mysterious “secret sauce”. 

"Britain remains one of the best places for TV and film," says Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos

Ted Sarandos stands at a podium, delivering a talk at the RTS London Convention, beneath a screen on which text reading "FOR THE LONG HAUL" is visible

Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos opened the RTS London Convention with a generous address that highlighted the role British TV has played in the US streamer’s rise to global dominance. Emphasising Netflix’s many UK productions and its heavy investment in studios, he said: “We couldn’t be more excited to be here – and, believe me, we’re not going anywhere.”

The RTS, said Sarandos, holds “a special place in my heart”, recalling that at the 2016 London Convention he premiered a trailer for the first season of The Crown, “a show that stood conventional wisdom on its head”.

Broadchurch creator to adapt Agatha Christie’s The Seven Dials Mystery for Netflix

Together with Chibnall’s screenwriting, Suzanne Mackie (The Crown) will executive produce the series with Good Omens’  Chris Sussman. Chris Sweeney (The Tourist, Back to Life) will direct.

There is no word on how closely the team will adapt the book, as recent adaptions of Agatha Christie’s work have opted to update the material for modern audiences.

On The Crown's ‘invisible’ visual effects and the making of good trailers

The cast of The Crown on the balcony at Buckingham Palace

RTS London heard how the visual effects were created for The Crown over six series of the landmark Netflix drama – everything from recreating Buckingham Palace to real-life incidents such as the death of Princess Diana in Paris, the Aberfan disaster and the fire at Windsor Castle.

“[As] a historical drama, there are things that we have to… recreate, so we needed visual effects to be able to bring those stories to life,” explained Reece Ewing, VFX (visual effects) producer and post-production supervisor, who joined the drama in series three.

Recollections may differ

If four series of lavish production and high-stakes storylines about the upper echelons of the aristocracy weren’t enough to whet appetites for series five of The Crown, the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II will have piqued yet more interest in Netflix’s flagship show.

In the days following the monarch’s death, The Crown’s audience rose more than 800% in the UK, according to data analytics firm Whip Media. This is a reminder, if one were needed, of the strong emotional connection many viewers feel to the British Royal Family.

Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki star in first-look photos of The Crown series 5

Imelda Staunton is succeeding Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II, and will be presiding over what was a turbulent period for the family.

On her accession, Staunton told Tulum: "What has been nice, and I hope I don’t prove them wrong, is people saying, ‘I’m really looking forward to seeing her as the queen.' So, let’s just hope that works out for them, because I’ve done it. Nothing I can do about it now!"