‘The Crown’ To Be Extended, Netflix Orders A Sixth & Final Season
The Crown, a popular historical drama streaming on Netflix, has officially been extended. On Thursday, the Netflix Twitter account announced that the show has been renewed for a sixth and final season.
Previously, the fifth season was meant to be the last, but showrunner Peter Morgan realized they needed more time to conclude the story properly.
“As we started to discuss the storylines for Series 5, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons,” he said, according to the tweet.
Per a Variety report, the new plan will wind up taking the series “into the early 2000s.”
The Crown reportedly finished filming its fourth season in March, just before lockdown began in the United Kingdom due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is not yet clear when Season 4 will debut on Netflix, but is expected to be sometime before the end of the year.
The fourth season will mark Olivia Colman’s final year playing Queen Elizabeth II, as The Crown regularly exchanges actors to mark the passage of time.
Beginning in Season 5, Harry Potter actress Imelda Staunton will take over the role of the famed queen. Since the series has been extended to a sixth season, she will portray Queen Elizabeth II for two seasons rather than just one.
The streaming service also confirmed that Princess Margaret will be portrayed by Phantom Thread star Lesley Manville.
One reason Netflix may have decided to renew The Crown for another season is to allow more storytelling featuring notable historical figures Prince Charles and Princess Diana. They are played by Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin, respectively.
The vice president of original content for the streaming service, Cindy Holland, said she was looking forward to audiences getting a chance to see the upcoming fourth season of the series.
She added that the show continues to raise “the bar with each new season.”
Fans of the series took to social media to express their excitement over getting more content before the show concludes, although a few wished the series was renewed for even more seasons.
“Good news! #TheCrown is getting a sixth season after all. Peter Morgan said, IMELDA STAUNTON RIGHTS!!” tweeted one person.
“Six seasons! The Crown Nation, we won! #TheCrown,” wrote another.
“Yesss we are getting a season 6 of the #thecrown so excited love this program,” chimed in a third fan.
“I AM GETTING A SEASON SIX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #THECROWN,” added a fourth user.
