Netflix adds disclaimer to The Crown trailer after Judi Dench criticizes TV series

Netflix's crown jewel is back for a fifth season — but not everyone is happy with The Crown's depiction of Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family, and the streaming giant has taken note.

Just a few days after a former British prime minister released a statement about the series' portrayal of him, British actor Dame Judi Dench wrote a letter expressing displeasure with the hit series.

As The Crown progresses through its timeline, its story will be increasingly familiar — perhaps even personal — to those who lived through the events it depicts, opening it up to further criticism.

Season 5 will be the first time the show airs after Queen Elizabeth's death in September. Netflix added a disclaimer to the YouTube description of its new trailer to inform viewers that the show is fictional.

"Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign," the description reads. The new season streams on Netflix Canada starting Nov. 9.

Dench's letter, which was published by the U.K. news site The Times, calls the series "cruelly injust" and "damaging" for its treatment of the Royal Family. 

"The closer the drama comes to our present times, the more freely it seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism," the 87-year-old actor wrote.

Former British PM calls series 'malicious fiction'

Dench's letter follows a statement from a former British prime minister, Sir John Major, who served in the role from 1990 until 1997. The politician released a statement criticizing The Crown, which in Season 5 will feature actor Jonny Lee Miller playing a version of Major.

Major made the statement after it was rumoured that several storylines would feature conversations between him and then-Prince Charles, including a scene in which the two scheme to have Queen Elizabeth abdicate the throne.

"Sir John has not co-operated — in any way — with The Crown. Nor has he ever been approached by them to fact-check any script material in this or any other series," a statement from his representative said.

Major isn't the first prime minister to be depicted on the show. Sir Winston Churchill was played by John Lithgow, and Harold Wilson by Jason Watkins, in their dealings with the Royal Family.

The alleged plotlines are "nothing other than damaging and malicious fiction" designed to create "entirely false dramatic impact," Major's representative added.

In response, Netflix released a statement defending the integrity of the show.

"The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events. Series Five is a fictional dramatization, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the Royal Family — one that has been scrutinized and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians," the statement read.

Netflix has rejected calls for a disclaimer in the past. In 2020, former British culture minister Oliver Dowden urged the streamer to add a disclaimer to The Crown ahead of its fourth season.

"We have always presented The Crown as a drama.... As a result we have no plans — and see no need — to add a disclaimer," a statement from Netflix read.

Heavily publicized moments from Royal Family's past

As the show's timeline enters the 1990s, it could examine the most heavily publicized moments in the Royal Family's history, including the divorce of then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and Princess Diana's death.

Elizabeth Debicki, who will play Diana, said in an Oct. 18 interview that the show — and the tragedies it depicts — are thoughtfully written and carefully thought-out.

"The amount of research and care and conversations and dialogue that happen over, from a viewer's perspective, something probably that you would never ever notice is just immense," the actor said.

Though she acknowledged Netflix's trailer disclaimer, Dench said she worries that viewers will accept the show's portrayal of events as fact, especially those tuning in from overseas.

In her letter, she said the streamer should consider adding a disclaimer to the beginning of each episode, "for the sake of a family and a nation so recently bereaved" and "as a mark of respect to a sovereign who served her people so dutifully for 70 years."

Doing so would preserve the streaming giant's reputation among its British audience, she said.