The Crown has very quickly become one of the most successful and popular TV shows about the British royal family that’s ever been made. And many fans are hoping that Netflix gives us a fourth season, soon.
Netflix has, so far, given us three wonderful seasons, but will there be any more? Of course, there will; the biography of Elizabeth II’s life has so far only told part of the story.
Season three ended in 1977, so there’s so much more of the Queen’s life to go, and the show’s makers have already announced that they are planning a fifth and a sixth season.
So we’ll have at least thirty more episodes to enjoy. And as the sixth season was only announced on July 9, after producers had already said there would only be five, well, who knows for sure about the future.
As long as there’s a Royal family, then there could theoretically be The Crown.
When does The Crown season 4 come out?
There’s some good news for fans of The Crown concerning next season’s release date.
Production has come to a screeching halt on many TV productions due to social distancing restrictions following the COVID-19 outbreak, but it seems season four of The Crown might be unaffected.
The show had just about finished filming when the lockdown hit, which means it should arrive on Netflix on schedule. They reportedly wrapped up in mid-March with just a few more shots to take.
Tobias Menzies reportedly said they probably didn’t need the final shots anyway. He also said they didn’t even have time to have a wrap-up party and say farewell because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Now for the bad news. Netflix has not confirmed the release date yet. There was a massive two-year gap between Season 2 and 3.
However, the Radio Times has confidently predicted that the show will hit our screens before Christmas, either November or December 2020.
The Crown season 4 cast updates
The big question when it comes to casting in the next season is who will play Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth?
And it seems the answer is that Olivia Coleman will continue to steer the Kingdom into the 1980s and the turbulent Margaret Thatcher years.
As well as Coleman, we’ll also see Tobias Menzies back as the incorrigible Duke of Edinburgh, and Josh O’Connor and Helena Bonham Carter will also return as the Prince of Wales and Princess Margaret respectively.
Erin Doherty also returns as Princess Anne, and Ben Daniels remains as Margaret’s husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones.
However, we’ll also get two brand new and crucially essential characters in the shape of England’s first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and Princess Diana.
Gillian Anderson of The X-Files fame will play Thatcher, and the role of Diana went to Emma Corrin, who is best known for appearing in Pennyworth.
Reportedly, Season 5 will see Imelda Staunton, best known for Vera Drake, take over as Queen Elizabeth II. Lesley Manville (also had a part in Vera Drake) will portray Princess Margaret.
There’s as yet no word as to whether we’ll ever see Kate Middleton or Meghan Markle in The Crown, but we can keep our fingers crossed.
What will The Crown season 4 be about?
The next season will chart the years from 1977 until approximately 1990.
The show has always focused on the Queen’s relationship with her Prime Ministers, so we can expect to see plenty of Gillian Anderson’s Margaret Thatcher, who was in power from 1979 until 1990.
The real-life pair supposedly clashed over Apartheid in South Africa, miner’s strikes, and the Falkland’s War.
Anderson was hit with a bout of nerves before filming; she reportedly commented that “as we got closer to filming, I almost died. My heart has never beat so fast in all of my life.”
We should also see Charles and Diana’s 1981 wedding along with their 1983 tour of Australia. Prince William was born in 1982, and we can reasonably assume Prince Harry will turn up in 1984.
Fans can brace themselves to witness the difficulties that Diana and Charles encountered within their marriage.
There was an infamous security breach in 1982 that culminated in a break-in at Buckingham Palace, and of course, the Falklands War raged in 1982. We can expect all these events to be covered in the next season.
President Ronald Reagan is also bound to make an appearance in the next season.
Want more from Netflix?
While you’re waiting for the fourth season to come out, you may fancy catching up on some classic movies from Netflix. Luckily, Monsters & Critics have made a helpful list of the 15 best classic movies on Netflix follow the link to check it out.
What’s more, we also have a list of 15 of the most popular TV shows on Netflix, again, just follow the link.
The Crown seasons 1-3 are currently available to stream on Netflix.