Netflix's lavish production ticks all the boxes of a royal awards contender: impeccable craftsmanship, sterling performances and a historical story. But all that polish may have dulled its edge.
When Netflix does a genre, it usually does it right. The Crown looks to be highbrow drama that understands history is most compelling when it reveals the personal turmoil and struggles of public figures.
In addition to the more obvious benefit of The Crown's lush tour through mid-century British history, this considered ambivalence about calling and family is the series' great gift to the viewer.
Matt Smith and Claire Foy share a touching, easy chemistry that makes the longevity of the union easy to understand, and renders the couple not just sympathetic but human.
If you want to know why the drama departments at the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV are quaking in their boots just watch a couple of episodes of Netflix's sumptuous, leisurely and immaculate recreation of the Queen's early years on the throne.
