Synopsis: The second season about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II explores the 1950's and 1960's. The show is created by Peter Morgan who wrote films such as "The Queen" (2006), "The Last King of Scotland" (2006) and "Frost/Nixon" (2008). The plan is for the show to last six seasons.
Release Date: Season 2 is now available on Netflix. Ten episodes.
What else should I know about this show?
Last season, "The Crown" earned 13 Emmy nominations, 12 BAFTA awards, and multiple Screen Actors Guild awards. The show also earned an AFI award for "TV Program of the Year". Season 2 has already earned two Golden Globe nominations for "Best Television Series - Drama" and "Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series". With a budget of $100-$120 million, The Crown is one of the most expensive shows that Netflix has ever produced.
The Cast:
Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II
Matt Smith as Philip, Duke of Edinburg
Victoria Hamiliton as Queen Elizabeth's mother
Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret
Pip Torrens as Tommy Lascelles
Will Keen as Michael Adeane
Jeremy Northam as Anthon Eden
Anna Madeley as Clarissa Eden
Billy Jenkins as Prince Charles
Anton Lesser as Harold MacMillan
Greg Wise as Lord Mountbatten
Alex Jennings as David, Duke of Windsor
Matthew Goode as Tony Armstrong-Jones
Daniel Ings as Mike Parker
Chloe Pirrie as Eileen Parker
Jodi Balfour as Jackie Kennedy
Michael C. Hall as President Kennedy
Reviews for Season 2:
Variety - 10 out of 10
"Foy is doing the best performance currently on dramatic television in her Elizabeth. ... There are few shows currently on air that convince you of how carefully considered its vision is, but The Crown does it constantly--whether that is the way the light streams through the window onto Philip's shoulders, or the set of Elizabeth's jaw as she addresses her prime minister. For that alone it is remarkable."
The Atlantic - 10 out of 10
"This personal, complex portrayal of a monarch who by her own admission in the show would rather be living any other life is riveting enough. But The Crown is also a history lesson, as my colleague David Sims has put it, albeit a selective one. It's gorgeously shot, with flawless re-creations of everything from the Throne Room in Buckingham Palace to a 1950s hospital ward. And it's surprisingly funny."
Collider - 10 out of 10
"Like its first season, each new episode makes its mark and tells its own complete story, all while staying linked to Elizabeth's journey as a monarch, mother, and wife. It's another exceptionally strong season of television, full of compelling drama and sweeping grandeur."
San Francisco Chronicle - 10 out of 10
"The new season is even more engaging that the first. The other reasons include Morgan's writing, spot-on direction from Stephen Daldry, Philip Martin, Benjamin Caron and others, and superb performances at almost every level. ... The fact that it's one of the best shows in town is just the jewel in The Crown."
New York Magazine (Vulture) - 10 out of 10
"On every level, The Crown is deserving of praise. But it's that subtle emphasis on the idea that even the most stubborn among us can at least try to evolve that makes it vital end-of-2017 viewing."
Newsday - 10 out of 10
"The first season was initially hagiography masking as a high-end TV series, but the second season is Vanity Fair, full of characters, life, humor, passion and buttered scones. Morgan not only has a series to match his 2006 Oscar-winning movie, "The Queen," but finally one to exceed it. The Crown--the second season, anyway--is magnificent."
The AV Club - 9 out of 10 (Grade: A -)
"By delving into the darkest recesses of the marriage--now graduated from whinging squabbles in season one to adulterous rumors in this one--The Crown achieves a groundbreaking, intimate look at a legendary union far beyond their many official portraits."
The Oregonian - 9 out of 10
"Utterly fascinating. ... The Crown is a showcase for keen character observation and inspired acting, not only from Foy. As Philip, Smith is able to show more dimensions of a man who's hard to like, but not easy to outright condemn."
Entertainment Weekly - 9 out of 10 (Grade: A -)
"Peter Morgan's creation works so well as a whole because it's consistently well written and lushly filmed--so lush it almost shames a small screen--but its greatest strength once again is in the casting."
Salon - 9 out of 10
"There's more bitter than sweet in this season, to be certain; that doesn't sour the story, however, which speaks to Morgan's skill in building the story and the history, which he strengthens by making season 2 more of an ensemble piece and less reliant on Foy."
Los Angeles Times - 9 out of 10
"Foy has no problem filling the void left by Lithgow's Churchill with another stellar performance that builds upon the experience and confidence Elizabeth gained last season. ... Elizabeth's personal life, Philip's identity crisis and the geopolitics of the era are seamlessly triangulated here."
RogerEbert.com - 9 out of 10
"Clearly, The Crown doesn't come close to experiencing a second-season slump. In some ways, it tops the highs achieved in its initial run, building on the already-complex relationships between Elizabeth, Philip, Margaret, the Queen Mother, and other members of the Royal Family and their retinue to create something even more layered and rich."
We Got This Covered - 9 out of 10
"Unafraid to delve deep into the Monarchy's turbulent history, in its second season The Crown has once again set the bar for Netflix Originals. The series' regal production design, sublime writing, and ravishing camerawork frame the ensemble's consistently impeccable theatrics in pure gold. The biographical drama has justified its minutely dull setup and indeed shown viewers that heavy lies the crown."
Salon - 9 out of 10
"There's more bitter than sweet in this season, to be certain; that doesn't sour the story, however, which speaks to Morgan's skill in building the story and the history, which he strengthens by making season 2 more of an ensemble piece and less reliant on Foy."
The Mary Sue - (Positive Review)
"Season two of The Crown solidifies it as one of Netflix's best acted and produced series."
The Guardian
"In the meantime, the second 10-part season was released on Friday, and… could it match season the first, which bestrode the world? I am here to happily report that, if anything, it's better."
Vanity Fair - 8 out of 10
"I find the show pretty bloody compelling."
The Hollywood Reporter - 8 out of 10
"Because Foy is so excellent, her occasional shift to the background over these 10 episodes is a loss, but doesn't wholly detract from Morgan'https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/crown-review-season-2-1063466s nuanced exploration of the paradoxically potent impotence of British royalty in the 20th Century."
Washington Post - 8 out of 10
"In striving to be more, The Crown, which delivers 10 robust new episodes Friday on Netflix, intermittently becomes too much."
The New York Times - 8 out of 10
"Not everything Mr. Morgan tries works--an episode involving Elizabeth's complicated feelings toward Jacqueline Kennedy, and a plot contrivance in which Philip is more closely linked to the Profumo scandal than history would suggest, don't pan out. But the pleasures of high-class melodrama are always present, as is the comforting notion--increasingly hard to believe--that our leaders can be compassionate, intelligent and exceedingly well behaved."
The Daily Beast - 8 out of 10
"If the first season was reminiscent of The Queen, then the second season is more like The Other Boleyn Girl. The drama has been dialed up to 11 and the structure of the series is such that Morgan squeezes every ounce of romance from the stone."
VOX - 7 out of 10
"Despite the roiling tensions of the imminent '60s and the various revolutions it holds, the Royal Family's domestic politics are still what The Crown does best. And for every moment that falls apart under the weight of leaden metaphors, there are still several that shine. Royals may not be just like you or me, but they are, The Crown insists, prone to indulging the same trifling nonsense as the rest of us."
IndieWire - Grade: B -
"Some viewers may look for exactly this in their television: a beautiful recreation of historical events, connected by safe assumptions about the people who lived through them. But television is capable of so much more, and whether you like The Crown or not, its medium evokes stronger, richer feelings elsewhere."
UPROXX (Alan Sepinwall) - 6 out of 10
"The drama's second season (it debuts Friday; I've seen all 10 episodes) unfortunately isn't at that level [of season one]. It's peppered with moments, and even whole episodes, that evoke the quality of season one, but overall there are enough decisions to bring it down into "If you like this sort of thing, you'll probably like this sort of thing" territory, where once it was the sort of show where I always had to preface my remarks with, "I know this doesn't sound like it's for you, but…"
