The original post: /r/television by /u/We-are-all-dead-90 on 2026-03-04 16:32:02+00:00.
The Crown it’s exactly one of my all-time favourites but it’s always been a generally high-quality show with incredibly production values, top-tier acting and an interesting historical look at some divisive people. I’m fully onboard the fuck monarchy, especially as someone with an ethnic background from a colonized country, but the show was still admittedly pretty good.
I am realizing though that as I moved through the seasons of The Crown, my interest in it went down more and more. Part of it might be because the further back in history the show was, the more dramatic and interesting it felt. The more modern stuff, especially with Princess Diana and beyond, is pretty widely known and just feels almost like reality TV.
But really I think the main driving force behind why the first two seasons of the show are the most compelling to me are simply Matt Smith and Claire Foy. As good as the cinematography and direction were, and even with the often compelling narrative, I found that it was really carried by their chemistry. Every scene they had together was electric. Matt Smith in particular really stole the whole show regardless of how good everyone else was.
It’s not like the cast hasn’t always been stacked - Olivia Colman/Imelda Staunton and Tobias Menzies/Jonathan Pryce are all excellent actors, and Emma Corrin and McNutty killed it as Diana and Charles. But idk, it just felt like the spark was gone after Smith and Foy were replaced.