Not surprisingly, the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8 — ending a historic 70-year reign — spurred renewed interest in “The Crown,” the popular Netflix series that follows the monarch’s life and events during her time on the throne over multiple decades.
“The Crown,” which begins in the late 1940s prior to Elizabeth’s becoming the Queen of England, will end with Season 6, taking the show into the early 2000s.
Between Friday and Sunday (Sept. 9-11), the show’s viewership in the U.K. increased more than 800% from the previous Friday-Sunday period, per data analytics firm Whip Media. In the U.S., viewership more than quadrupled from Friday-Sunday compared with the previous week, and in France viewing jumped threefold, per Whip Media.
Worldwide, “The Crown’s” viewership increased nearly four times over the past weekend than it was the previous weekend, according to Whip Media. The findings are based on data pulled from TV Time, Whip Media’s TV and movie tracking app, which has more than 22 million global registered users.
“The Crown” Season 5 is set to premiere in November and feature a new cast. Imelda Staunton will play Queen Elizabeth, Jonathan Pryce will portray Prince Philip, Dominic West will star as Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki stars at Princess Diana. Olivia Williams has been cast as Camilla Parker Bowles and Jonny Lee Miller will appear as Prime Minister John Major.
Last Friday, Netflix confirmed it would pause production on the sixth and final season of “The Crown” in the wake of the Queen’s death.
Claire Foy (pictured above) played Queen Elizabeth in the first two seasons, earning her both Golden Globe and Emmy Awards. “The Crown” won the Globes’ drama television series award 2017 for its first season.
