Netflix's The Crown Will End With Season 5, New Queen Elizabeth Actress Revealed

The Crown is one of Netflix's highest profile shows, but given the subject matter--the life of Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family over the decades--it was always going to have a finite lifespan. It has now been confirmed that Season 5 will be the final one.

The news was confirmed by Netflix and The Crown creator Peter Morgan. While it's not unexpected that the show has a confirmed end date, it is surprising that it's finishing after five seasons. Morgan had previously stated that it would run for six seasons, but has now said he changed his mind once work began on Season 5.

"Now that we have begun work on the stories for S5 it has become clear to me that this is the perfect time and place to stop," he said. "I'm grateful to Netflix and Sony for supporting me in this decision."

In addition, Imelda Staunton (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Paddington 2) has been announced in the role of Elizabeth II for Season 5. She is the third actress to take on role, following Claire Foy in the first two seasons and Olivia Colman in last year's Season 3 and the upcoming Season 4, which is expected to hit Netflix later this year.

In a statement, Staunton said: "I have loved watching The Crown from the very start. As an actor it was a joy to see how both Claire Foy and Olivia Colman brought something special and unique to Peter Morgan's scripts. I am genuinely honoured to be joining such an exceptional creative team and to be taking The Crown to its conclusion."

The Crown was one of the shows that Netflix highlighted the viewing figures of in recent weeks. The company revealed that 73 million households have watched the show since it began. However, Netflix nows counts its viewers in a new way, meaning that only two minutes of a movie or series has to be watched for it to count.

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