Netflix has added a disclaimer to the marketing for “The Crown,” which depicts the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, explaining that the series is a fictionalized drama.
The disclaimer reads: “Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign.”
It appears in the show’s Twitter bio, as well as in the description for the show’s season five trailer, which was released Thursday.
The show, which dramatizes the late queen’s reign as well as the lives of the royal family around her, has taken heat for liberties taken with the events it depicted. Some have called for disclaimers not just in marketing but before episodes of the show.
“The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events. [Season] five is a fictional dramatization, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors,” a Netflix spokesperson told the Daily Mail.
Actress Judi Dench, in a letter to the British newspaper The Times, argued that as the show gets closer to the current day, the line between historical depiction and sensationalism is blurring.
“Despite this week stating publicly that The Crown has always been a ‘fictionalized drama’ the program makers have resisted all calls for them to carry a disclaimer at the start of each episode. The time has come for Netflix to reconsider … to preserve its reputation in the eyes of its British subscribers,” Ms. Dench wrote. In 1998, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in the movie “Shakespeare in Love.”
Former Prime Minister John Major, who is depicted as plotting with then-Prince Charles to oust the queen, told the Daily Mail that was “a barrel load of nonsense peddled for no other reason than to provide maximum — and entirely false — dramatic impact.”
Season five of “The Crown” goes up on Netflix’s streaming platform on Nov. 9.
