UPDATE: “The Crown” suspended production Friday in honor of the Queen’s death, Variety has confirmed. The series is currently in the midst of filming its sixth and presumed final season.
“Out of respect, filming on ‘The Crown’ has been suspended today,” a Netflix source confirmed. “Filming will also be suspended on the day of Her Majesty the Queen’s funeral.”
EARLIER:
“The Crown,” the hit drama about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and the events that shaped it, will likely stop production on Season 6 following the queen’s death, sources close to creator Peter Morgan confirmed to Variety. Netflix has yet to issue a statement.
The monarch, who ascended the throne in 1952, was the world’s oldest reigning monarch at age 96. She died surrounded by her family at Balmoral, her palace in the Scottish Highlands, the family announced Thursday. She is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III.
Her death comes ahead of Season 5 of the Netflix show, which is set to premiere in November and will feature a new cast. Imelda Staunton will play Queen Elizabeth, Jonathan Pryce will play Prince Philip, Dominic West will star as Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki will star as Princess Diana. Olivia Williams has been cast as Camilla Parker Bowles and Jonny Lee Miller will appear as Prime Minister John Major.
Although details have been kept under wraps, the season will seemingly focus on the 1990s, leading up to Diana’s death in 1997. Season 6 recently cast 16-year-old Rufus Kampa as Prince Harry and 21-year-old Ed McVey as Prince William, leaving it is understood that the season will explore the aftermath of Diana’s death and the boys’ lives in the early 2000s.
Although Queen Elizabeth II has never spoken publicly about “The Crown,” Claire Foy, who played her in the show’s 2016 first season, said a year later that she “would hate the idea of watching it.”
“When you play a real person, you never want to be crazy,” he told Town & Country at the time. “I don’t want to single out a person. I want to invent someone. So I’d hate for him to see that and think I overdramatized anything.”
