The Show’s First Season Reaches New Heights with 17.6 Million Hours Watched

The first series of The Crown has made its way into Netflix’s global top 10, as the world reflects on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. For the week of September 5-11, the drama, which originally aired in 2016, secured seventh place in the top English-language TV shows, garnering an impressive 17.6 million hours of global viewing.

A Netflix post commented: “HRH Queen Elizabeth II was in the hearts and minds of viewers, leading fans to revisit The Crown’s inaugural season, which entered the list for the first time with 17.57 million hours watched.”

The debut series introduced Claire Foy as the young Queen Elizabeth II, depicting her early reign from her marriage to Prince Philip in 1947 through to the resignation of her first Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, in 1955. The season also covered the death of King George VI and the Queen’s ascension to the throne. Alongside Foy, Matt Smith portrayed the Duke of Edinburgh, and John Lithgow took on the role of Winston Churchill.

The season also focused on Princess Margaret, played by Vanessa Kirby, and her relationship with RAF officer Peter Townsend.

Filming on the latest season of The Crown was paused following the Queen’s death last Thursday, with a Netflix spokesperson confirming, “As a mark of respect, filming was suspended, and will also halt on the day of Her Majesty the Queen’s funeral.”

The forthcoming fifth season, set to air in November, will introduce Dominic West as Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana. Although the show was initially planned to conclude after its fifth season, creator Peter Morgan has since announced that it will be extended to include a sixth season.

Meanwhile, the top spot on Netflix’s global TV chart went to Cobra Kai season five, with a staggering 106.7 million hours watched, while the limited series Devil in Ohio placed second with 70.8 million views.