Strong phrases. Judi Dench slammed Netflix’s “completely inaccurate” portrayal of the royal household within the upcoming season of The Crown.
“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 Oscar winner, 87, wrote in an open letter to The Times printed on Thursday, October 20. “No one is a greater believer in artistic freedom than I, but this cannot go unchallenged.”
The Belfast actress requested Netflix so as to add a disclaimer to every episode clarifying that the present is fictionalized, which she feels is very obligatory within the aftermath of Queen Elizabeth II‘s demise. The late monarch died at age 96 on September 8.
“Despite this week stating publicly that The Crown has always been a ‘fictionalized drama,’ the program makers have resisted all calls for them to carry a disclaimer at the start of each episode,” Dench continued in her letter. “The time has come for Netflix to reconsider — for the sake of a family and a nation so recently bereaved, as a mark of respect to a sovereign who served her people so dutifully for 70 years, and to preserve their own reputation in the eyes of their British subscribers.”
The Notes on a Scandal star additionally pointed to a number of “wounding suggestions” within the upcoming episodes as proof {that a} disclaimer is required, citing a plot line about King Charles III wanting his mom to abdicate. “This is both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent,” she wrote.
Dench’s letter isn’t the primary time the Emmy-winning drama has come underneath hearth for its depiction of the royal household. In November 2020, Oliver Dowden, then the U.Ok.’s tradition secretary, referred to as for Netflix so as to add a disclaimer to the collection, calling the present “a beautifully produced work of fiction.”
The streaming service, nevertheless, refused to incorporate one. “We have always presented The Crown as a drama — and we have every confidence our members understand it’s a work of fiction that’s broadly based on historical events,” a spokesperson for the platform stated on the time. “As a result we have no plans — and see no need — to add a disclaimer.”
The upcoming fifth season is anticipated to deal with the early to mid-Nineteen Nineties, as season 4 wrapped up in 1990 with the departure of Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) as prime minister. The new episodes may also characteristic completely different forged members within the lead roles, with Imelda Staunton changing Olivia Colman because the queen and Dominic West taking up for Josh O’Connor as Charles, 73.
Last 12 months, Prince Harry revealed that if the present introduces an grownup model of him, he desires to be performed by Damian Lewis. The Duke of Sussex, 38, additionally famous that he’s “comfortable” with the collection as a result of the present is “obviously fiction” and producers don’t “pretend” it’s a documentary.
“It gives you a rough idea about what that lifestyle, what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else, what can come from that,” the Invictus Games founder defined throughout a February 2021 look on The Late Late Show With James Corden. “I’m way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family, or my wife, or myself.”
Season 5 of The Crown premieres on Netflix Wednesday, November 9.
Source: www.usmagazine.com