Following its board-sweeping performance at the Emmy Awards last weekend, The Crown has gained itself a whole new army of fans this week, so with Season 4 arriving on Netflix on November 15th, the platform's TUDUM event has now prepared them for a year long wait to the Season 5 premiere in November 2022. The series took an extended break, like many other shows, thanks to the Covid pandemic, so while fans are chomping at the bit to get back into the next chapter of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, at least they already know when their next royal fix will arrive.
The fifth season of the Golden Globe-winning drama, which delivers a partly fictionalised look at the British Royal family in some of the most pivotal moments of the 20th century, will see a number of cast members changing as the time period moves on to a new era. Olivia Colman will be stepping down from her role as Queen Elizabeth II, a part that earned her an Emmy win for Season 3 and she will be reprising in the upcoming fourth season, and will be replaced by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix's Dolores Umbridge actress, Imelda Staunton.
The actress appeared in a special message to fans as Netflix revealed the release date for Season 5, saying, "I have loved watching The Crown from the very start. As an actor, it was a joy to see how both Claire Foy and Olivia Colman brought something special and unique to Peter Morgan's scripts. I am genuinely honoured to be joining such an exceptional creative team and to be taking The Crown to its conclusion."
She added, "I will do my utmost to maintain the very high standard that they set," she said. "Hopefully I look calm, collected and capable. My stomach, meanwhile, is doing somersaults."
When the fifth season was originally announced, it was believed that Staunton would be appearing as the monarch for only one season, as creator Morgan had planned on ending the series after that. However, the number of issues faced by the family during the period and beyond turned out to warrant a further season, which he has said will definitely be the series finale.
The cast of the Emmy winning show will see some newcomers in Season 5, including Jonathan Pryce taking over the role of Prince Philip, Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret, Dominic West as Prince Charles and Olivia Williams as Camilla Parker Bowles. The season will cover events that befell the family through the early part of the 1990s, including the year the Queen called her annus horribilis when Windsor Castle burned, the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles came to an end. Whether the season will also cover the death of Princess Diana is unclear, or whether that will form part of the final sixth season.
The first three seasons of The Crown are currently streaming on Netflix, giving you the chance to see the saga from the beginning before the arrival of the fourth season this November. The fifth season will continue the story when it arrives in November 2022. This is just one of many new announcements to come out of Netflix's TUDUM event on Saturday.