A Netflix notice reminds viewers, and Judi Dench, that ‘The Crown’ is fictional, and ‘not to be taken literally’. (The Crown’s producers are in the process of setting up several other live TV shows, to give their other series “a fictional dimension.”)
From the BBC:
The programme contains “cursory reference to some historical characters”, according to the letter “not” on the BBC licence fee agreement form.
There is no risk the programme will be regarded as “entertainment”.
“The Crown – The Game Changers” was filmed in the same period as “Black Comedy”, and the producers have said the shows have been shown to be real.
The letter “not” does not state what the programmes are like, but they have a “certain air of authenticity”, says the BBC’s controller of BBC One.
It is one of the few programmes made before digital editing made it look like two films fused, “and it was deliberately and very cleverly done in the same way we would use in the next [long-running] comedy drama series,” says the BBC’s head of drama John Nathan-Turner.
The series is set in England, and involves the Queen in a series of diplomatic and legal negotiations.
A second letter states “the programme is fictional” but does not mention the Queen.
The letter “not” states that the licence fee is £1.25 per day.
Producer John Bury, who has written two series of “The Crown”, says he has always felt the royal audience were “a little bit wary” of royal documentaries, and has been “lucky” that he is not under fire again.
Bury, who wrote many of the series’ scripts, says he “had no idea”, once he was told what they were doing, why it would be criticised.
He recalls he was walking down the Queen’s Mile on the way to the Tower of London to watch the royal wedding in May 2011 with his daughter, Lorna.
He stops and looks up — and is startled as if in a dream, he says: “There is the Queen, walking up the steps — it’s completely
