As if there wasn’t already enough drama going down in the U.K., the juicy new trailer for The Crown was released on Thursday morning.
The teaser for the Netflix drama seems to be aiming straight for the hearts of millennials, showcasing footage of Princess Diana’s most famous moments—including her legendary black dress and controversial BBC interview with Martin Bashir—all set to The Verve’s ever-dramatic “Bittersweet Symphony.”
Following Queen Elizabeth II’s death, The Crown and its dramatization of the intrigue behind palace doors has attracted a brighter, perhaps harsher spotlight. The new season takes place during the queen’s 40th anniversary as monarch, depicting the growing scrutiny she and her family are under in a changing media landscape and modern world. Then there’s the Diana and Charles of it all: The prince incites an international crisis when he threatens the sovereign by requesting a divorce, while Diana’s ever-growing popularity leads her to find her own voice and take control of her own narrative.
The new season, which will premiere Nov. 9, will feature the third cast to take on the main roles. Imelda Staunton will play the queen, with Jonathan Pryce taking over as Prince Philip. Elizabeth Debicki will star as Diana, as many instantly viral paparazzi shots of her in costume have spoiled. Dominic West is Charles, a casting glow-up if there ever was one, and Lesley Manville takes over for Helena Bonham-Carter as Princess Margaret.
Recently, Britain’s Daily Telegraph published a column suggesting the Palace was dismayed over the series’ decision to depict an “all-out war” between Diana and the royal family, calling the series “exploitative” and accusing it of “mangling” the reputation of the queen after her death.
“I think we must all accept that the 1990s was a difficult time for the royal family, and King Charles will almost certainly have some painful memories of that period,” Morgan said in response to the report, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “But that doesn’t mean that, with the benefit of hindsight, history will be unkind to him, or the monarchy. The show certainly isn’t. I have enormous sympathy for a man in his position—indeed, a family in their position. People are more understanding and compassionate than we expect sometimes.”
The series was just about to begin filming its sixth season when production paused to commemorate the queen’s passing. That season will dramatize Diana’s tragic death, and everything leading up to it.
“It’s a hell of a season, because it deals with Diana’s death and appalling scenes, like having to break that news to your sons,” West told the magazine. “I’ve got two boys of that age and so it’s a heavy, heavy responsibility to get it right and something I think we all take pretty seriously.”
Season 5 of The Crown launches on Netflix on Nov. 9.
