Netflix issues new disclaimer for ‘The Crown’ stating that series is ‘fictional’ amid heavy criticism
After being criticized for blurring the line between reality and fiction, Netflix's ‘The Crown’ has issued a disclaimer in its marketing materials. ‘The Crown’ has been a big success with costs hovering around $13 million to produce one episode. The show has been under scrutiny by its actors who believe that some amount of respect should be paid to the British royal family.
The trailer description for the upcoming season 5 of the streaming giant's hit drama makes it clear that the show makers want to err on the side of caution. The description reads, “Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign.” Such a disclaimer hasn't appeared in any prior ‘The Crown’ teasers on Netflix's YouTube site. Additionally, it appears that the reminder that ‘The Crown’ is "fictional" has been added to its official Twitter account within the previous month. In the teaser, Elizabeth Debicki plays the late Princess Diana as she sits down for her controversial 1995 Panorama interview with disgraced former BBC journalist Martin Bashir. In the voiceover, she says, “I won't go quietly.”
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The most recent season which will premiere on November 9 has drawn a lot of criticism from Netflix users. However, up to this point, it had consistently rejected requests for it to carry a disclaimer. In support of calls for a disclaimer, actress Dame Judi Dench criticized the program as being "cruelly unjust.” While Sir John Major, a former prime minister, called the images in which he and Prince Charles appeared to be discussing the Queen's perspective abdication "a barrel-load of malicious nonsense,” as per Daily Mail.
The monarchy could be harmed by the series, according to Dame Judi, 87, who has portrayed Queen Victoria and Elizabeth I in the show. The Academy Award-winning actress accused it of being "crude sensationalism" and fusing fact and fantasy. She urged Netflix to include a disclaimer stating that each episode is a "fictionalized drama" at the beginning of each one in a letter published in The Times. It would, according to her, also demonstrate respect for the nation's and the royal family's pain of losing Queen Elizabeth II.
The popular series portrays various members of the British royal family and depicts their lifestyle which is a culmination of real and fictional events. “The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events. Series five is a fictional dramatization, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the Royal Family – one that has already been scrutinized and well documented by journalists, biographers, and historians,” a spokesperson from Netflix told Daily Mail.