Netflix series The Crown will get a sixth season, it has been announced.
The lavish royal drama was due to end after the fifth series, but the show’s creator and writer, Peter Morgan, has confirmed it will be extended.
Morgan said: “As we started to discuss the storylines for series five, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons. To be clear, series six will not bring us any closer to present day – it will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail.”
News from the palace: we can confirm there will be a sixth (and final) season of @TheCrownNetflix, in addition to the previously announced five!
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) July 9, 2020
The sixth, and final season, will go into the early 2000s, but the number of episodes or exact storylines it will cover is not yet known.
The fourth series of the drama, featuring Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher and Olivia Colman returning as the Queen, airs later this year, and will see the introduction of Diana, Princess of Wales, played by Emma Corrin.
Netflix’s Cindy Holland, vice president of original content, said: “The Crown keeps raising the bar with each new season. We can’t wait for audiences to see the upcoming fourth season, and we’re proud to support Peter’s vision and the phenomenal cast and crew for a sixth and final season”.
In January this year Netflix announced that Imelda Staunton would take over the role of the Queen from Colman in the fifth series.
Colman took over the role from Claire Foy and made her debut as the monarch in the third series, which launched on the platform in November 2019.
Lesley Manville will play Princess Margaret in the fifth season of The Crown. pic.twitter.com/R5aZEBOW0t
— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) July 2, 2020
Phantom Thread star Lesley Manville will play Princess Margaret in the fifth series.
She follows in the footsteps of Vanessa Kirby and Helena Bonham Carter in the role of the Queen’s sister.
Earlier this year, Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix, praised the series, saying : “73 million households around the world have made The Crown part of the global cultural zeitgeist.
“Thanks to creator and writer Peter Morgan and a phenomenal cast and crew, the show’s popularity grows with each new season and, as the recent SAG and Golden Globe Awards demonstrate, its quality remains unsurpassed.”