“The Crown” season 5 became available on Netflix the morning of the 9th of November.
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the new season.
- The fifth season of The Crown, which follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, was released by Netflix on 9 November 2022
- It was the first season of the series to be released following both the death of Prince Philip on 9 April 2021 and the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022
- Imelda Staunton stars as Elizabeth
- Along with main cast members Jonathan Pryce, Lesley Manville, Jonny Lee Miller, Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki
- All cast members are new to the series
- This season marked The Crown’s second and final wholesale recasting
- Following the ensembles led by Claire Foy (seasons 1 and 2) and Olivia Colman (seasons 3 and 4)
- The Crown traces the reign of Queen Elizabeth II from her wedding in 1947 through to the early 21st century
- The fifth season focuses on the 1990s
- In January 2020, Imelda Staunton was announced as succeeding Colman as the Queen in the fifth season, and her role in the final sixth season was reported in July
- Also in July 2020, Lesley Manville was announced as portraying Princess Margaret
- The following month, Jonathan Pryce and Elizabeth Debicki had been cast as Prince Philip and Diana, Princess of Wales, respectively
- In October 2020, Dominic West was in talks to play Prince Charles and was officially confirmed as part of the cast in April 2021
- In June 2021, Jonny Lee Miller was cast as John Major and Olivia Williams announced that she would portray Camilla Parker Bowles
- On 18 November 2021, it was announced Senan West, the real-life son of Dominic, was cast as Prince William
- In March 2022, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu was cast as Monique Ritz
- Filming for the season began in July 2021
- Jemima Khan, who was a friend of Princess Diana, revealed that she had stepped down as a consultant and co-writer on episodes focusing on the Princess over concerns that the story of her final years would not be as properly portrayed as she expected
- Filming was temporarily halted that December
- This was after eight crew members tested positive for COVID-19
- This resulted in them being quarantined
- Rotten Tomatoes reported a 68% approval rating for the fifth season
- Based on 31 reviews
- With an average rating of 6.70/10
- Its critical consensus reads: “In its fifth season, it’s hard to shake the feeling that this series has lost some of its luster — but addictive drama and a sterling cast remain The Crown’s jewels”
- On Metacritic, the season holds a score of 69 out of 100
- Based on 28 critics
- Indicating “generally favorable reviews”
- After the fourth season, many called on Netflix to add a disclaimer to The Crown saying that the series was fictionalized portrayal based on historical events
- Calls for a disclaimer grew in the aftermath of the Queen’s death
- Given that season 5 would be released only two months after the monarch’s death
- It was thought that Netflix and the series should recognize the sensitivity of the time
- Movie stars including Judi Dench joined the chorus of people calling for a disclaimer to be added
- On 21 October, Netflix announced that a disclaimer would be added to the fifth season
