The Crown Season 5 Just Hit A Serious Snag
One of Netflix's most acclaimed original series has been the British drama "The Crown." Created by Peter Morgan, who also wrote the 2006 film "The Queen," the show follows the British royal family through various tumultuous periods, beginning with the ascension of Queen Elizabeth II in Season 1.
As the show has continued, numerous characters from history have been introduced, while time jumps have led to other roles being recast. This led to the introduction of Princess Diana in the show's 4th season, played by Emma Corrin, with Prince Charles being played by Josh O'Connor. The 5th season has been confirmed to continue telling their story, with Elizabeth Debicki taking over the role of Diana, and Dominic West picking up the role of Prince Charles where O'Connor left off. Now, however, a major issue has arisen with the show's 5th season, which is also slated to feature Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II and Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip (per IMDb). This is the serious snag that's entangled "The Crown" Season 5.
A major writer and consultant has quit the show
Television producer and show consultant Jemima Khan has pulled out of the series' 5th season, citing concerns over the portrayal of Princess Diana, whom she was closely acquainted with when the Princess of Wales was alive.
As reported by Vulture, Khan revealed that she was approached by Peter Morgan to help write Season 5, which would cover the last few years of Diana's life before her untimely death in 1997. Khan had not spoken about her friendship with Diana during this time, but after giving it some thought, she decided to accept Morgan's offer, hoping that she could help tell Diana's life story with accuracy and compassion, which she felt hadn't been afforded to the princess in the past.
Khan and Morgan worked together from September 2020 to February 2021. However, Khan came to the realization that the respect and compassion she hoped would be afforded to Diana's story was not present in the current version of the draft. Feeling that her co-writing agreement wasn't honored, Khan asked for her contributions to be removed, and turned down a credit on the show.
The 5th season of "The Crown" is said to cover Diana's relationships with Hasnat Khan, a heart surgeon who was a distant relative to Khan's ex-husband Imran Khan, as well as film producer and Harrods heir Dodi Al-Fayed. Season 5, which was initially said to be the last before the decision was reversed, is expected to be released on Netflix in November 2022 (via IMDb).