Netflix’s Crown to conclude with S6

Olivia Colman in The Crown

Netflix hit The Crown will return for a sixth season after all, with creator Peter Morgan reversing his previous decision to stop after five seasons of the period drama.

The UK royalty-focused show, whose fourth season is due later this year, had initially been intended to run for six seasons, but Morgan said in February that, having begun work on the stories for season five, it was clear this was the “perfect time and place to stop.”

However, The Crown will now run to six seasons – though it will still only portray events up to the early 2000s, with Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville already cast as Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, respectively.

This means it will cover events including the death of Princess Diana and Prince Edward’s marriage, but not the relationships between young royals Prince William and Kate Middleton and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Writer and executive producer Morgan said yesterday: “As we started to discuss the storylines for season five, 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. To be clear, season six will not bring us any closer to the present day – it will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail.”

Cindy Holland, VP of original content at Netflix, added: “The Crown keeps raising the bar with each new season. We can’t wait for audiences to see the upcoming fourth season, and we’re proud to support Peter’s vision and the phenomenal cast and crew for a sixth and final season.”

Season four will launch later this year with Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth and Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher.

The Crown, produced by Left Bank Pictures, is one of the most expensive TV dramas ever made. C21 reported last year that the multimillion-dollar original drama series was destined for the linear TV distribution market, with rights to the show soon reverting to Sony Pictures Entertainment.