‘The Crown’ TV Review Roundup: New Netflix Series About Elizabeth II Shines

The first season of Netflix’s series The Crown premiered this Friday and has been a resounding success with the critics. The Guardian labeled the show “riveting” and “as dazzling and disparaging as the Queen herself.”

The new series follows the life of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II from the coronation and through the many years of her record-breaking reign (she is Enlgand’s longest reigning monarch with 64 years on the throne). The series shows how Elizabeth’s life changed as soon as her uncle, Edward VIII, abdicated. She was “trained” to be a queen from a young age, and the series portrays the tension between her public image and her private self.

It is rumored that the show cost £100 million to make, but chances are this investment will pay off. The series is starring Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth, Vanessa Kirby as her sister Margaret, Matt Smith as her husband Philip and John Lithgow as Churchill.

The Crown was written by Peter Morgan, the author of 2006 movie The Queen, which won an Oscar for best actress, and the play The Audience, which won a Tony in 2015.

The Netflix series is targeted not only to British fans, but is also expected to have great success in America. Critic Julia Raeside said The Crown is “undoubtedly, a huge, ocean-going blockbuster shot in multiple stunning locations, starring superb actors in the most beautiful costumes.” With all that, and a riveting story about the world’s most famous living monarch, the Netflix series is expected to captivate many around the world.