‘The Crown’ Viewing on Netflix Surges After Queen Elizabeth II’s Death

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.

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Between Friday and Sunday (Sept. 9-11), the show’s viewership in the U.K. increased more than 800% compared with the previous Friday-Sunday period, according to data analytics firm Whip Media. In the U.S., viewership of “The Crown” 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 versus 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, set to premiere in November, features 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 as 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 light of the Queen’s death.

Claire Foy (pictured above) portrayed a young Queen Elizabeth in the first two seasons, earning her the win for actress in a drama series at the 2018 Primetime Emmy Awards (as well as an Emmy for guest actress in a drama series last year). Olivia Colman portrayed the Queen in Season 3-4 of “The Crown” and won the Emmy in 2021 for actress in a drama series.

The show in total won 11 Emmys last year, including outstanding drama series, two Emmys in 2020, five in 2018, and three in 2017. “The Crown” is produced by Left Bank Pictures in association with Sony Pictures Television for Netflix.

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