Netflix might see one of its most popular programmes, The Crown, return in a different format, according to rumours that its creators were inspired by the success of Scoop.
Along with their own award-winning production, the recent 102-minute dramatisation of Prince Andrew’s Newsnight interview made headlines and captured viewers’ attention.
The Crown lasted for six seasons, from 2016 to 2023, to great acclaim, chronicling the life and reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II up to the current day.
With a star-studded ensemble including Olivia Colman, Claire Foy, Matt Smith, and Dominic West, the historical drama also launched the careers of promising young performers like as Josh O’Connor and Elizabeth Debicki.
In 2024, the streaming platform handled Prince Andrew’s contentious conversation with Emily Maitlis in Scoop, starring Rufus Sewell as Andrew and Gillian Anderson as Maitlis, with Billie Piper and Keeley Hawes rounding out the ensemble.
The broadcast interview effectively terminated his public existence as a member of the royal family.
Given the strong reaction to both Scoop Now and The Crown, which won several Emmys and Baftas, the show’s creators are reportedly contemplating revisiting the drama, but in a mini-series or one-off format for other spin-offs.
Peter Morgan developed and wrote The Crown, which was produced by Leftbank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television for Netflix.
One common proposal is to focus on King Edward VII’s reign, which lasted from 1901 to his death in 1910, as a one-season miniseries.
‘The consensus was that the royal drama seemed to wane the closer it came to modern day and retelling multiple stories that so many were familiar with,’ a source told The Sun.
‘But Scoop showed that rather than doing this in a drawn-out, ten-part series, focussing instead on one moment in time seemed to hook people.
‘If they can repeat that pattern by delivering prequels in a shorter form, they believe they may have come up with a winning formula for a new incarnation of The Crown.’
Edward VII, Queen Victoria’s son, was the only twentieth-century king not shown on screen in The Crown.
Alex Jennings and Sir Derek Jacobi played King Edward VIII throughout the series, Richard Dillane played George V in flashbacks, and Jared Harris played George VI in the first two seasons.
There have already been sequences on The Crown that go back to the older Edwardian period, and Edward VII would undoubtedly provide plenty of fodder.
His nearly 60-year tenure as Prince of Wales and heir to the throne garnered him a playboy image due to his leisurely lifestyle and several mistresses (up to 55).
He is believed to have had relationships with actresses Sarah Bernhardt and Lillie Langtry, Lady Susan Vane-Tempest, and longterm mistress Alice Keppel.
In a potentially enticing link to 2024, Keppel’s great-granddaughter is our current Queen, Camilla, the wife of King Charles III.
Her romance with her now-husband when he was married to Diana was detailed in The Crown.
