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Netflix to make royal UK original

Netflix is close to reaching a deal for its first original series to come out of the UK, a £100m (US$170m) drama following the life of Queen Elizabeth II.

The US subscription VoD service is in talks with Sony Pictures Television (SPT)-owned Left Bank Pictures to create a 20-part series titled The Crown.

The biopic will be penned by Peter Morgan, who wrote Oscar-winning film The Queen, while the first few episodes will be directed by Stephen Daldry, who directed Morgan’s stage play The Audience, which also centred on the monarch. Both of those productions starred Helen Mirren in the lead role.

At least three actresses will portray Queen Elizabeth II in the new epic drama, which will look at her 60-year reign, according to The Daily Mail.

UK broadcasters the BBC and ITV were reportedly negotiating rights to The Crown before Netflix stepped in.

It marks the first time the streaming giant has commissioned a UK prodco to make an original series, coming in the same week it announced plans to expand its European footprint.

The US streamer has found success with US-produced series including House of Cards but it is thought The Crown would cost more than the Kevin Spacey political drama.

Because it will comprise 20 episodes, Netflix would be likely to break The Crown into two seasons, as its did with the first 26 episodes of House of Cards, from Media Rights Capital and SPT.

Once The Crown is commissioned, it will be exec produced by Left Bank MDs Andy Harries and Marigo Kehoe – who were both involved in The Queen – and will debut in 2016, according to the Mail.

Left Bank and Netflix declined to comment.

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