Netflix Reminds People That The Crown Is Fictional After Backlash
Netflix has added a disclaimer to the new trailer for The Crown Season 5 to remind viewers that the show is a work of fiction in the wake of backlash and criticisms of the show by famous people like Judi Dench.
The description for The Crown’s newest trailer states that the show is “inspired by real events” but is also a “fictional dramatization” about Queen Elizabeth II and the “political and personal events that shaped her reign.” The show’s previous trailers did not contain such a disclaimer, Deadline reports.
Press materials and the Netflix landing page for The Crown also describe the show as being “fictionalized.”
The Crown Season 5 takes place in the ’90s when the royal family faces “what may be their biggest challenge yet: proving their continued relevance in ’90s Britain,” reads a line from the show’s description. Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) and Charles (Dominic West) appear in starring roles this season.
Dame Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love, Skyfall) recently lashed out at The Crown, calling it an “inaccurate and hurtful account of history.” She urged Netflix to add a disclaimer before each episode to remind people that the show is a work of fiction, but Netflix has not done this and has not announced plans to.
Dench went on to write, “Indeed, the closer the drama comes to our present times, the more freely it seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism.”
The Crown Season 5 debuts November 9 on Netflix.
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