Nuts to Game of Thrones, there’s only one back-stabbing, out-of-touch royal dynasty I want to see on TV this year and it’s on The Crown. Season 3 is due in the second half of 2019 and has recast its characters to mark a new era for the Windsors.
And so, Oscar winner Olivia Colman takes over as Elizabeth, Tobias Menzies as Phillip and Helena Bonham-Carter as Margaret. We’re also promised the tantalizing proposition of Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher, which should make this one hell of an interesting watch. But we’ve also been told that Season 3 will begin to tease the introduction of a young Diana, and the producers are trying to find the perfect actress for the role.
Season 3 won’t be focused on Charles and Diana, but given that it reportedly spans the mid-1960s to the late 1970s, there’s a good chance we’ll see Diana appearing in the final episode meeting Charles for the first time in 1977. And according to a casting call, it sounds as if her portrayal could ruffle a few feathers in Buckingham Palace.
Here’s what they’re searching for:
“A mesmerising new young star with extraordinary range.
She has to play charming comedy, flirt and social exhibitionist on the world stage, desperate and lonely self-harmer at her lowest ebb and the kind of psychological intensity of Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby.”
I’m extremely reassured that The Crown is treating Diana’s story as equivalent to being indoctrinated into a secretive and murderous cult and forced to birth a demonic Antichrist. In fact, I’m betting that season 4 is going to be an intense psychological drama that should shake off some of the goodwill viewers have towards the Windsors and replace it with the appropriate deep and abiding suspicion one should have of aristocratic social parasites.
The Crown hasn’t faltered in their casting so far, so I’m betting whoever they pick is going to be amazing. And as soon as we learn who they’ve chosen, we’ll be sure to let you know.