An Overview of New TV Series' The Crown'

Netflix, the streaming platform, has made public the official trailer for 'The Crown'. With a production budget of roughly $130 million, it is the most expensive TV series ever made. The ten–part drama series was filmed in Britain and tells the story of the initial years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth the second. That amounts to about _$13 million per episod_e and eclipses other high-budget TV shows such as 'Game of Thrones’, 'The Get Down’ and 'Rome’.

It's marketing material state that 'The Crown' new TV series at Netflix looks at the deeply private personal and political life of the Queen. It highlights how she struggled to match her public role and personal life. Claire Foy plays the Queen while Matt Smith stars as Prince Phillip, her Consort. Other members of the cast include John Lithgow as Winston Churchill, Jared Harris as King George IV, Victoria Hamilton as the Queen’s mother, Eileen Atkin as Queen Mary and Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret.

The 'Royal' family

The trailer opens with Elizabeth, then just a princess, and Prince Phillip in Africa when they get the news that he father is dead and now she is the Queen. Her aide then asks her what her 'reginal’ name will be, meaning the term she will be using as Queen. Unlike the modern custom, many monarchs at the time changed their names when they assumed the throne. A good example is the Queen’s own father who used the name King George VI despite his original name being Albert. All in all, the Queen decided not to complicate the matter and chose to use the name, Elizabeth.

The trailer also has scenes from her marriage to Prince Phillip and includes a part where Philip is advised to the Queen is the job and not titles. A number of scenes in the trailer highlight he difficulties that the couple faced in the initial days of their union. He had a tough time adjusting to the fact that she outranked him. For example, there is a scene in which he offers to escort her off the plane after they returned to London following the King George’s death. Philip was advised that the Queen should be allowed to walk first, and should not be escorted. In another scene, he asks not to kneel before his wife, who happens to be his Queen.

Claire Foy and Matt Smith

Other scenes in 'The Crown’ offer a sneak preview at the crash between the Queen and her sister Princess Margaret. This is after Margaret asked to marry a divorced man called Peter Townsend, with this request being denied. The TV series also highlights how influential Elizabeth was from her grandmother Queen Mary life. Mary was a rather historical figure who was generally perceived as having rebuilt the British monarchy into a flexible monolith at an era when numerous monarchies in Europe were falling apart.

Netflix is not billing 'The Crown’ as the most expensive series ever made. All in all, it is definitely the most expensive one on a per-episode basis. Comparing programs is usually difficult. Many American series, which typically are the most expensive made, have escalating costs as more seasons are made.

First look at 'The Crown'