The Crown season four is right around the corner, and excitement levels are running high, especially after the trailer drop on October 29.
While the Netflix original has a trusty fanbase that has followed Oliva Colman, Tobias Menzies, Josh O’Connor, and Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, and Princess Margaret for three seasons, the upcoming season is a special one – it features the entry of Princess Diana, played by Emma Corin, into the royal family. It also stars Gillian Anderson as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
The season will be available to stream on Netflix on November 15, however, some critics have had the luxury to watch the show early and the reviews are in, much to our excitement! If you are a fan of the show, here is a roundup of reviews that detail all you will need to know and expect before diving into the latest season, as compiled from Games Radar.
“It may be the most successful season yet” – Variety
Complemented with razor-sharp performances and furnished with the most luxurious set design that Netflix money can be, The Crown has successfully sold itself as one of TV’s most serious dramas. The fourth season, in all its shameless glory, may be its most successful yet even as it puts that prestigious perception to bed. After all, as The Crown reminds us with every dizzying turn of Diana’s misfortunes, the royal family’s rabid audience will always take high drama over a more human reality. Read the full review here.
“Some terrific Thatcher episodes and some really shaky Diana episodes” – Collider
There’s been no drop off in the quality of the production, which makes the wobbly writing even more apparent. Since the season is largely divided between Thatcher and Diana, you have some terrific Thatcher episodes and some really shaky Diana episodes, and unlike Season 2, which has been the show’s strongest thus far, there’s no major arc that ties everything together. The Crown has always been somewhat episodic, but in previous seasons each episode was stunningly strong, and in Season 4, that’s no longer the case. Read the full review here.
“A season of next-level performances” – Entertainment Weekly
Anderson’s turn as Thatcher is so viscerally physical – her head held high under an armored bouffant, her replication of Thatcher’s raspy pronunciation simply impeccable – that it’s impossible to avoid the critical cliché: she is transformed. Late in the season, Elizabeth and Thatcher clash over South Africa’s apartheid government – the queen supports sanctions, the prime minister does not — and it results in a tensely repressed showdown so riveting, it’s like watching the Wimbledon finals of acting. Read the full review here.
“Peter Morgan’s show delivers its best yet” – IndieWire
After a subpar Season 3, it turns out that what this ongoing narrative of Queen Elizabeth really needed was an enemy – or two. In a season with the most pop-culture audience pressure riding on it – because of the Princess Diana factor, there is no doubt that people who have never watched a single second of The Crown before now will tune in – Peter Morgan’s show delivers its best yet. Read the full review here.
“One of the best looking shows out there” – IGN
Netflix’s The Crown continues to prove why it’s one of the best shows on television in Season 4, with amazing performances from its ensemble of characters and superb writing from showrunner Peter Morgan and his team. These 10 episodes successfully keep a balanced focus on both Queen Elizabeth’s complicated relationship with Margaret Thatcher and the exploration of what makes Charles and Diana’s relationship tick. Season 4 is another crowning achievement for the series. Read the full review here.
