The Crown

[Rich]

Anyone else dive into this new Netflix original offering? I'm not a history buff so this content (the growth of Queen Elizabeth II) was largely new to me, but I found the first season to be riveting and binge-worthy. The issues and dilemmas facing the young Queen, both on a personal and national level, were extraordinary and really interesting. I found the acting to be excellent and John Lithgow deserves awards for his depiction of Prime Minister Churchill. I'd be interested to hear others' views and, more importantly, for those who have studied this part of history, whether you believe this to be an accurate depiction of the events of the time or just made-for-TV drama.

[Doria]

I have this on my watchlist, but haven't had time between "new" TV, working ahead to prepare for my vacation, and the holidays. I'm not extremely knowledgeable about history, but I do like reading or watching historical stuff. I definitely plan to watch this, but my roommate and I are embroiled in bingeing The 100 (it's really good post-episode 3--don't judge!).

[Rich]

Anyone else dive into this new Netflix original offering? I'm not a history buff so this content (the growth of Queen Elizabeth II) was largely new to me, but I found the first season to be riveting and binge-worthy. The issues and dilemmas facing the young Queen, both on a personal and national level, were extraordinary and really interesting. I found the acting to be excellent and John Lithgow deserves awards for his depiction of Prime Minister Churchill. I'd be interested to hear others' views and, more importantly, for those who have studied this part of history, whether you believe this to be an accurate depiction of the events of the time or just made-for-TV drama.

I'm awfully prescient, if I may be so bold.

[Lord Ash]

TOTALLY enjoyed it. Wonderful acting, fantastic sets, and a great style of writing, with each episode very naturally focusing on a single topic.

Love the show.

[RPS]

TOTALLY enjoyed it. Wonderful acting, fantastic sets, and a great style of writing, with each episode very naturally focusing on a single topic.

Love the show.

Me too. Wonderful performances. Good insights. Interesting issues.

[Mal]

Me too. Wonderful performances. Good insights. Interesting issues.

Agreed. The pacing is rather glacial, but that's good with me as I relish good dialogue and acting in television, and it's definitely in evidence on this show.

I am a little concerned with where the content goes from here. The first season had the ties to King George and Churchill and the immediate post-war politics, so the second season will lose those elements, and we won't see Jared Harris (who's a fabulous actor in my opinion) and we'll presumably get far less of Lithgow. Also missing (or stale if they continue as subject matter) will be the themes of what it means to give up your private self to become monarch, and The Education of Queen Elizabeth by Winston Churchill.

I suspect the slow dilution of power of the English crown will be a theme throughout the series, and probably the slow waning of England/UK power in the world at large, as well. And they'll still have the adjustments Philip makes in becoming the husband of the monarch, and Margaret's jealousy. That's fertile ground, I guess, but I don't know how many hours I want of it. Not being much of an Anglophile generally, there's nothing particularly compelling to me about nearly anything that's happened in British history since 1955 or so. The Suez Crisis, the Falklands, the tabloidization of the royal family starting (I think?) in the '80's? Meh. I'm hoping the writing and acting continues to be as good as it was in the first season to keep me watching, though.

[LasVegas]

I’ll be a negative Nancy on this one. I’ll agree that it is very very good (acting, script, etc) but it just didn’t entertain me. At all. I’ll probbaly give the first few episodes of season 2 a watch just to see if my mind has changed.