Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey, really loves The Crown. Truly! He just wonders whether perhaps it might be strictly, absolutely fair to Prince Philip. (He would.)
CNN picked up his appearance on (checks notes) Katie Couric’s podcast:
“It was very well done, it was beautifully acted, beautifully written,” he said. “For me, I’m not completely comfortable with dramatizing people who are still alive and still living their lives because I think it’s possible to be unfair. And in the second (season), I didn’t think it was fair to Prince Philip, to the Duke of Edinburgh, based on very little.”
Julian, I’m a woman from the south who can read a little conversational posh Brit and so you aren’t fooling me—that is a call out! He continued:
Fellowes said he expects to be “punished” for his view and reiterated that he believes the show deserves all its accolades.
Even so, he said of the on-screen portrayal, “I think when people are still alive, living their lives, doing a good job and popular and loved, do they deserve it? And in that sense, I’m not sure they do.”
No but really! Big fan!
“I think that a lot of it was based on, obviously, very good research, but some of it was not,” he said. “Some of it was extrapolation from a rumor or someone’s rather prejudiced account. And then it was presented as fact, and I’m not sure that’s just.”
Fellowes wanted to be clear that he is a huge fan of Morgan.
“I think he’s the best writer on television at the moment,” Fellowes said. “And it’s deservedly successful, as far as I’m concerned.”
I take a rude amount of joy in imagining a dudefight between these two titans of expensive prestige TV about rich British people. Thanks, Julian—I really needed this.