‘The Crown’: Netflix Boss Ted Sarandos Calls Series the ‘Crown Jewel’ of Streamer

The Crown had its Season 5 premiere on Tuesday in London, at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, with the entire cast in attendance. While they are currently in the middle of filming the sixth (and supposedly final) season, everyone made time to take the stage before the first two episodes were screened.

And joining them was the head of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, who took the opportunity to celebrate the show’s success while vaguely referencing the controversy surrounding it this season, following the Queen’s passing.

“It is such a thrill for us to get to work with the greatest talent here, to explore British storytelling around the world to an audience that is hungry for it and that loves it,” he said. “And there’s no better example of that than The Crown. I remember almost 10 years ago, the first meeting, when Peter Morgan and Stephen Daldry had this incredible meeting when they came and pitched the idea for The Crown. Now, it was ambitious for sure, but it was perfectly clear. Peter pitched 10-episode seasons that would be a cinematic drama — the production design, casting, writing, more fitting of feature film — obviously where they were quite accomplished already. And the idea that we would re-cast every two seasons, these were all at the table 10 years ago, the ideas for the show, and it came in pretty much exactly as they hoped to do it.”

He then went on to reference the call by some (including Dame Judi Dench) to put a disclaimer on the series to note that it is a dramatization and not fact.

“In the end, this is the story of Queen Elizabeth, this is the story of the Royal Family — told in dramatized stories,” Sarandos said. “Some are very memorable, some forgotten, judging by the Google activity that happens every time we drop a new season. But these are the stories that shaped this country during Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year reign.”

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He finished by crowning the series the “crown jewel” of the streaming platform.

“There was so much talk about our giving a two-season order for House of Cards back then. But it really set the stage beautifully for this six-season commitment to excellence that became The Crown. So since The Crown premiered back in 2016, it is — pun intended — the crown jewel at Netflix, and we’re incredibly, incredibly proud. I know that the last couple of weeks there has been a lot of talk about The Crown. Tomorrow, when people get to see it, the talk is going to be about how magnificent this new season is.”

The Crown, Season 5, Streaming Now, Netflix