Netflix's Next Prestige Drama Is About Queen Elizabeth II 

Because Americans are a bunch of thirsty Anglophiles, Netflix is plowing a big chunk of change into a series about Queen Elizabeth II. It’s called The Crown. It’s gonna cost a fortune.

According to the Telegraph, Netflix is spending £100 million on the series, the most it’s ever spent on a show. They’ve got plans for six seasons, filming in the U.K., tracing QEII’s life from her 1947 wedding to today:

The show is billed in breathless style as the “the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world – Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street – and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century”.

The tagline reads: “Two houses, two courts, one Crown.”

After failing to win a single major Emmy last year for its two most high-profile shows, House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black, Netflix is banking on the Royal Family as a route to awards glory.

Unfortunately that means they’ll miss the opportunity to show her participating in a conga line through the Ritz on VE Day—boo. Claire Foy (who also played Anne Boleyn, apparently making queens a specialty) will be playing Elizabeth for the first two seasons, at least. They recently filmed the scenes for her wedding, and you can get a glimpse here.

It’s an interesting idea for a series. As of September 9, Elizabeth will pass Victoria has the longest-reigning British monarch ever, and she held the throne for a goodly chunk of the tumultuous twentieth century. If they can restrain themselves from syrupy, nostalgic ass-kissing—always a risk with this sort of thing—it could be really compelling.

Why they’ve cast Doctor Who’s Matt Smith as Prince Philip, though, is anybody’s guess.