A Netflix notice reminds viewers, and Judi Dench, that ‘The Crown’ is fictional and only loosely based upon the royal family. Why do we still care that a TV show is based on a fictional country?
In the age of the internet, every story is instantly available to its audience. The question in everyone’s mind: Who cares that another country’s royal family is shown on a TV show?
The Crown, a Netflix hit drama based on the UK’s fictional royal family, has been picked up as a series for next year, making it a hit and potentially a box-office triumph.
As a British author and newspaper journalist, I’m all too aware that the Crown is a fictional country. I understand that the show is not to be taken seriously in the same way a period soap opera like Coronation Street or EastEnders is.
I don’t mean to diminish the fact that it’s a show about the British royal family or that it’s a very well-made and very sophisticated British TV drama. I’m just talking about the fact that Britain’s Royal Family is a fiction, even though it looks a lot like one real-life family.
I’m British, so I guess I know that the Crown is a fictional country because I know something about the Royals. In 2015, I wrote a long, meandering and mostly unreadable article about the Crown.
It doesn’t really matter though: the Crown is a fictional country and therefore, according to the internet, we should all be thrilled. Because it looks like a country.
And like all fictional countries, the Crown has its own flag.
The TV show does this in a number of very clever ways. For instance, the Queen is portrayed by a very young actress, Olivia Colman, and you get to see more of her face close up. It’s great.
It also makes it look a lot like the UK.
The Crown: Netflix
As for the monarchy’s history, well the show looks to be based on real-life events. The only things that aren’t based on truth are the characters’ names.
And, like the Queen,