No plans for disclaimer on The Crown, confirms Netflix

Netflix will not add a content disclaimer to its big-budget drama The Crown, the streamer has said.

The series, which charts and dramatises the reign of Elizabeth II, recently launched its fourth season and was met with scrutiny by the UK government, led by culture secretary Oliver Dowden.

Dowden told the Mail on Sunday that the streamer should add a ‘health warning’ for the Olivia Coleman-starring series, and that it gives viewers a damaging impression of the royal family.

Particular criticisms levelled against the show include an infantilising portrayal of the late Princess Diana and depictions of hostility from members of the royal family towards her. Some Tories have also criticised what has been described as a ‘caricature’ portrayal of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher by Gillian Anderson.

Netflix however has said that it will not succumb to these demands, with the streamer issuing a statement: “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. As a result we have no plans – and see no need – to add a disclaimer.”

The Crown is one of the most expensive series produced by Netflix, with each episode of its first two seasons costing an estimated US$6.5 million-US$13 million to produce.

The show was initially set to bow out after its fifth season, but its overwhelming popularity has seen Netflix add an additional sixth and final season taking it up to the events of the early 2000s.