It generated jokes, memes, and numerous historical-minded think pieces, and crucially catered to multiple demographics.
By all accounts, it seemed poised to become a driving force in television history.
Then Peter Morgan ruined it.
Elizabeth Debicki in The Crown (2016), IMDb
The problems began when, asThe Guardianput it, the show caught up with modern times.
After all, who would question the accuracy?
Accusations of historical inexactitude and sensationalism began; Morgan went on the defensive.
I can only repeat what I have always said, Morgan recently toldThe New York Times.
Some of it is necessarily fiction.
But I give a shot to make everything truthful even if you cant know if its accurate.
Claudia Harrison, Dominic West, and Olivia Williams in Sleep, Dearie Sleep, ‘The Crown’ (2023) | IMDb
But the issue wasnt that Morgan took some creative liberties.
It was that he spun his series into an extended PR campaign for the royal family.
In other words, he had begun writing fiction.
Elizabeth Debicki in No Woman’s Land, ‘The Crown’ (2022) | IMDb
Or, at least, he was honoring his personal agenda in lieu of reflecting what the public believed.
AsThe Crowncontinued to speed along its 60-year timeline, these aforementioned issues became more apparent.
(One could only hope to receive such criticism in life.)
The casting was deemed royal bootlicking by members of the press.
Even the Queens portrayal was skewed, although in the oddest way possible.
And as for Prince Andrew the real symbol of royal rot the series resoundingly said, Who?
In perhaps his most egregious bit of royal PR, Morgan began painting non-royals as antagonists on his show.
Prince Harry, now famously estranged from his family, became a bratty troublemaker.
In a head-spinning turn of events, the two even shouldered some blame for Dianas death.
Who could ever forget Princess Margarets tragic split from Peter Townsend?
It was almost as if Charles had written the scene himself.
And speaking of Ghost Diana, she was probably the final seasons biggest misstep.
(See:Greys Anatomy).
But thats no matter: Morgan was running on empty, after all.
He had always planned to endThe Crownafter five seasons, and thus needed to improvise for this final chapter.
Princess Margarets death was literally a title card.
Sadly, this also means that the show will pass out of public memory.
No one, save for the most loyal royalists, needed to watch a series that championed hereditary wealth.
The result was a swan song without a tune and no one was listening.
Thefinal seasons viewership numbers were proof.
Of course, this all could have been prevented.
Morgan could have used his platform to destabilize a longstanding, problematic institution.
Thankfully, his excellent first two seasons will speak for themselves as he pursues further projects.
And, hopefully, he wont need to suck up to any rich people next time.
