‘Sumptuous, gorgeous and riveting’: The Crown Series 3 wins GLOWING reviews with Olivia Colman’s Queen branded ‘masterful and moving’
- The long-awaited third series of the hit Netflix show premieres on November 17 and spans some 13 years from 1964 to 1977 in the dramatisation of the Royals
- Olivia, 45, has taken over from Claire Foy, 35, in depicting the monarch
- Early reviews were mostly positive for the upcoming season, with the show branded ‘sumptuous, gorgeous and riveting’
- Her performance was deemed ‘masterful and extremely moving’
The Crown’s third season has won a legion of glowing reviews among a handful of less flattering evaluations ahead of its return to Netflix later this month.
The hit show is set to return to the streaming service on November 17 with a whole new cast, including Olivia Colman, 45, taking over from Claire Foy, 35, as The Queen, and the reviews thus far have been widely positive.
Both The Mirror and The Guardian packed praise upon the show while Vulture wrote of Olivia’s work: ‘Colman’s performance is a season-long exercise in extraordinary restraint that provides a profound payoff’.
‘Sumptuous’ : The Crown’s third season has won a legion of glowing reviews among a handful of less flattering evaluations ahead of its return to Netflix later this month The Crown season three (pictured: Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies, and Josh O’Connor)
As the show moves forward in time, the cast of seasons one and two have been replednished with new faces alongside Olivia as an older Queen.
Joining the Broadchurch actress is Tobias Menzies, 45, who replaces Matt Smith, 37, as Prince Philip and Helena Bonham Carter, 53, steps up to play Princess Margaret who was previously portrayed by Vanessa Kirby, 31.
Season three largely reflects the era of Harold Wilson, who served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1970 and then from 1974 to 1976, when he resigned for health reasons.
And Olivia will play the steely and constrained monarch as she faces her darkest time on the throne yet as she battles the miners’ strike, national security, sibling rivalry and family conflict ahead of her 1977 Silver Jubilee.
A comeback: The hit show is set to return to the streaming service on November 17 with a whole new cast, including Olivia Colman, 45, taking over from Claire Foy, 35, as The Queen
The Mirror gave a glowing review of the show, with a whopping five stars given by film writer Lewis Knight.
He wrote: ‘The Crown remains a fascinating, well-acted, and sumptuous drama series and one that is also, on the whole, rather balanced in how it examines what is likely the most famous family in the world.’
A less flattering summary came from The Independent, where Ed Power penned: ”As with the real Elizabeth, it is grand yet a bit colourless, gilded but never quite glamorous…
Royals: In the third and fourth season Olivia is taking over the role from Claire Foy while Tobias Menzies follow in the footsteps of Matt Smith
Shining star: Helena Bonham Carter, 53, steps up to play Princess Margaret who was previously portrayed by Vanessa Kirby, 31
‘And with the Charles-Diana marriage and Anderson’s Margaret Thatcher to come in season four, there is still much to look forward to. But for now the jewel in Netflix’s tiara has lost its glow.’
It was The Guardian who insisted the show suffers defects – yet jumps to the defense of the hit programme by admitting the confidence helps mask the woes.
Lucy Mangan wrote: ‘On the one hand, it’s tremendous. You’re riveted. By the relentlessly top-notch performances, the cracking story and frisson of forbidden knowledge. And on the other, it has the action stop every 12 minutes or so…
‘Like the royals themselves, it is so confident and so precision-engineered that you don’t notice the defects.’
In another suggestion that Olivia is the pillar among her peers, Tilly Pearce of the Metro proffered that she is shown to be the ‘puppet master’ of the other characters.
Exciting: The Mirror gave a glowing review of the show, with a whopping five stars given by film writer Lewis Knight
Before the reviews were released, Olivia revealed the rigorous preparations she underwent to perfect her new regal role as she spoke to Harper’s Bazaar UK.
The Oscar-winner admitted that one of the drama’s directors had to ‘teach her how to walk’ to nail the role of the monarch.
The star said: ‘I don’t really enjoy research. But for this, I have to accept it. I can’t just sit like me, I have to sit like her, and look like pictures of her…
‘They have been teaching me how to walk – I’m really terrible at that, I have no physical awareness. I walk a bit like a farmer, one of the directors said.’
Walking tall: The Oscar-winner admitted that one of the drama’s directors had to ‘teach her how to walk’ to nail the role of the monarch
Sumptuous and gorgeous: The Crown Series Three’s reviews
The Mirror: *****
‘The Crown remains a fascinating, well-acted, and sumptuous drama series and one that is also, on the whole, rather balanced in how it examines what is likely the most famous family in the world.’
The Guardian: ****
‘On the one hand, it’s tremendous. You’re riveted. By the relentlessly top-notch performances, the cracking story and frisson of forbidden knowledge. And on the other, it has the action stop every 12 minutes or so…
‘Like the royals themselves, it is so confident and so precision-engineered that you don’t notice the defects.’
The Independent: ***
‘As with the real Elizabeth, it is grand yet a bit colourless, gilded but never quite glamorous… And with the Charles-Diana marriage and Anderson’s Margaret Thatcher to come in season four, there is still much to look forward to. But for now the jewel in Netflix’s tiara has lost its glow.’
Metro ***.5
Then there’s obviously some missing moments from the show, where they’ve picked and chosen what to ignore and what to hone in on, but at the end of the day it’s a fictionalised version of history, not a day-by-day reconstruction, so you will just have to overlook it or lump it.
Overall, the series is great, and is veering in a new direction ahead of season four. It’s an interesting take, but we like it.
Digital Spy
‘The Crown season three feels very different from the first two seasons. Its characters are more settled into the world in which they belong, and each episode is presented as a stand-alone with very few running threads…
‘With the introduction of Princess Diana set for season four, we expect a lot more from the next chapter and season three may, in the long run, sit as filler for the overall box set.’
Vulture
‘The third season, some major things have changed, but fundamentally, the Netflix drama remains the same…
‘It is still gorgeously photographed, still committed to shining a new light on royal history, and still immensely satisfying to watch. It is also still extremely well-acted, even though that’s where the biggest shifts occur.’
The Los Angeles Times
‘Colman is masterful as a cold but not uncaring figurehead for a country in need of solace. She has to fake tears when touring a disaster site where a schoolhouse full of children were buried under an avalanche of coal sludge….
‘Colman carries that imbalance with her throughout the season, frostily dressing down her own son Charles (Josh O’Connor) then tenderly talking about the race horses she loves as if they were her real children.’
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