Since Claire Foy has abdicated the throne, it’s time for a new queen to step up in Netflix’s lavish period drama The Crown. The show’s next-generation cast has a compelling lead in Olivia Colman, driving the drama as a slightly older Queen Elizabeth II. The Brit actor, who’s starred in everything from Hot Fuzz to Broadchurch, via Peep Show and The Lobster, is donning the ruler’s iconic pearls for Season 3, and now we have a first look at her in character.
Colman will play the Queen in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, and is expected to remain in the role for two seasons before the cast switches again. Tobias Menzies will continue the role of Prince Phillip, played previously by Matt Smith, with Helena Bonham Carter taking over from Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret. Jason Watkins will join the cast at Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
Queen Elizabeth II is not the first monarch Colman has played – the first trailer for Yorgos Lanthimos’ new film The Favourite arrived last week, starring Colman as an unravelling Queen Anne in the early 18th Century.
With The Crown Season 3 currently gearing up for production, expect the next series to hit Netflix at some point in 2019.
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