Topline
Netflix has added a disclaimer to its trailer for the fifth season of The Crown after weeks of pressure from prominent Britons and the country’s press over concerns about the show’s potentially negative portrayal of the U.K.’s new king, Charles III, and other members of the royal family.
Imelda Staunton and other cast members are seen on a boat made to look like a Royal yacht tender in … [+]
Key Facts
The show’s description on Netflix promotes the upcoming season with the disclaimer: “Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign.”
The season five trailer on YouTube also has an updated description with the same disclaimer.
Previously, the show’s description only said it is “based on historical events” and “dramatizes the story of Queen Elizabeth II.”
At the time of publishing, this disclaimer does not appear on any of the older trailers of the show.
The disclaimer also does not appear in the actual trailer itself, something U.K. government officials have long demanded.
The new season of The Crown is set for release on November 9 and features Charles’ fraying relationship with Princess Diana, their eventual divorce and her death in a fatal car accident.
Crucial Quote
Addressing complaints about the show’s purported historical inaccuracies in a statement to the press, Netflix said: “Series five is a fictional dramatization, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the royal family — one that has already been scrutinized and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians.”
Key Background
British acting legend Judi Dench on Wednesday criticized the show’s upcoming season in an open letter, calling its plotlines “cruelly unjust,” and saying every episode should start with the clarification that it is a “fictionalized drama.” Dench’s criticism follows former U.K. Prime Minister John Major’s statement that the show was a “barrel-load of malicious nonsense” for presenting a plotline where he had a conversation with Charles and tried to urge him to get the former monarch to abdicate the throne in the 1990s. Back in 2020, U.K. culture secretary Oliver Dowden urged Netflix to play a “health warning” before the show stating it was a work of fiction.
Further Reading
Netflix Adds “Fictional” Disclaimer To ‘The Crown’ Season Five Trailer Following Backlash (Deadline)
Controversy Over ‘The Crown’ Grows: Judi Dench Says Netflix Should Add Disclaimers To Series (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/10/21/fictional-dramatization-netflix-adds-disclaimer-to-the-crown-season-5-trailer-after-weeks-of-pressure/