“The Crown” Season 5 Premieres This Year – Here's What We Know So Far

As with many details about “The Crown” and its new season, the exact timeline that will be covered has not been confirmed. The fourth season finale takes place over Christmas 1990, so it’s safe to assume that the fifth season will take us deep into the ’90s (the show has historically covered a decade per season), a particularly turbulent time for the royal family.

In 1992 alone, a year the Queen called her “annus horribilis,” the family went through one finalised divorce and two separations (both of which later ended in divorce), the publication of a tell-all book, leaked phone conversations, and a fire at a royal residence. We’ll also probably see the increasing animosity between Princess Diana and the rest of the royal family, which played out in very public fashion. Politically, the timeline indicates that the season will probably focus mostly on the tenure of John Major as prime minister.

Of course, the most notable event in the ’90s was the 1997 death of Diana in a car crash in Paris, although it’s not clear when or how Diana’s death will be depicted on “The Crown.”

None of the previous cast members will be returning for “The Crown” season five. Instead, a fresh cast will take on the roles for the final two seasons. The new cast will feature Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II, Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret, Dominic West as Prince Charles, and Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana.

New characters will arrive too, most notably Jonny Lee Miller as the new prime minister, John Major. Variety reported that Khalid Abdalla will play Dodi Fayed, while Salim Daw will play his father, Mohamed Al-Fayed.

While there have been no formal announcements about the episode count of “The Crown” season five, it seems pretty safe to assume that it will have 10 episodes, just like all four of the previous seasons. Since the show has never deviated from this formula yet, it makes sense that it would continue.

At Netflix’s Tudum event in September 2021, Imelda Staunton appeared in a promotional clip and announced that the fifth season of “The Crown” will arrive in November 2022. The exact release date has not yet been announced.