Fresh off its 13 Emmy nominations for its second season, The Crown has began filming its third season. We dish the latest details on the upcoming third season.
Complete with brand-new cast, the Netflix production has released three photos from the new season, the first look at Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter, and Ben Daniels in character as Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and Antony Armstrong-Jones, respectively.
In October 2017, Variety confirmed Broadchurch and The Night Manager star Olivia Colman will play Queen Elizabeth II for Seasons 3 and 4. Claire Foy originated the role for Seasons 1 and 2, and confirmed to Vulture back in December 2016 that the entire original cast of the series would be replaced. Colman says that she has drawn her inspiration for the role from the stellar performance given by Foy.
As for the premise of the next season, Peter Morgan has confirmed it would depict the 12-year span of 1964 to 1976 (the “Wilson era”), a departure from the shorter time frames depicted in Seasons 1 and 2. The 1976 cutoff date for the end of the season means we wouldn’t see Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 or Margaret’s divorce in ’78 until Season 4. Season 3 would open around 1970, “when its central British royals are a bit older and, possibly, wiser,” Morgan told Variety.
When will it hit your screens? Not for some time, following reports and speculation. There have been reports suggesting that season 3 will be released in 2019 and not this year. However, in the past, seasons of The Crown have been released on the streaming platform in November or December – so there is still chance that it may be out by the end of this year.
The third and fourth instalments are being filmed back-to-back, according to The Independent.