Netflix has stated its budget for original programming exceeds $5 billion for 2016. But as it has seen subscriber growth begin to slow, one of the ways industry analysts believe it can continue to expand is through international markets. That’s what chiefly comes to mind looking at the first trailer for the streaming service’s ambitious upcoming historical drama series The Crown. Created and written by Peter Morgan (The Queen), the series plans to depict the life of Queen Elizabeth II of England, from her wedding through the present day. With a first season budgeted at over $100 million and a planned 60 episodes over six seasons, it’s a massive undertaking—albeit one with the screenwriter and playwright responsible for the best stories about the current monarch put to stage and screen.
The first season takes place in the 1940s, as Elizabeth (Claire Foy, from Wolf Hall) prepares to marry Prince Philip (Matt Smith, of Doctor Who) and assume her eventual role as Queen. The cast also includes Jared Harris as King George VI, Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret, and John Lithgow as Winston Churchill.
It’s a significant investment, especially given that the series debuts during the same year as the tonally different but similarly exorbitant The Get Down. But historical dramas do well in the United Kingdom, and the Royal Wedding and subsequent royal births ignited the interest of Anglophiles across America. So Netflix has that going for it, plus the incredibly compelling life of the longest-reigning monarch in England’s history. The 10-episode first season of The Crown debuts on the streaming service Nov. 4.
