‘The Crown’ Creator Peter Morgan On Ending His Netflix Series, Which Just Landed 18 More Emmy Nominations

Awards Circuit Podcast: Also on this episode, the Roundtable previews this weekend's San Diego Comic-Con

Emmy voters have loved “The Crown” from the start. Over six seasons, the Netflix drama has earned 21 Emmys and a total 87 nominations across all categories, including outstanding drama series in 2021 — when it didn’t have to go up against “Succession,” which took a bye year.

“The Crown” is once again up for drama series at the 76th Emmy Awards, and once again won’t have to go up against the now-retired “Succession.” It instead faces another formidable competitor: FX’s “Shogun,” which landed 25 noms and is currently seen as the frontrunner in the drama race.

But “The Crown” is no slouch, picking up 18 nominations this year — and besides drama series, that includes Imelda Staunton in lead drama actress, Dominic West in lead drama actor, Elizabeth Debicki and Lesley Manville in supporting drama actress and Jonathan Pryce in supporting drama actor.

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Creator Peter Morgan is up for that drama series award, of course, but he’s also nominated for outstanding drama writing. Morgan recently sat down for Variety’s Showrunners Sitdown with editor at-large Kate Aurthur. They talked about his fears about showing the lead-up to Diana’s death, how Queen Elizabeth’s death in 2022 changed the final season, getting the three queens back for the series finale, what he didn’t include in the show — and why he’s taking a break from the royal family for now. Listen below!

Writes Aurthur: “Even at its inception in 2014, Peter Morgan’s “The Crown” was designed to be one of the most ambitious television projects of all time —and by the time it concluded last year, his v -

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ision for the show had proven to be monumental. Created for Netflix, and premiering in 2016, Morgan’s series depicted the life of Queen Elizabeth IIfrom right before she became the monarch through the year 2005, when then-Prince Charles married the love of his life, Camilla Parker Bowles.

“Its scope, in other words, was massive. The cast of “The Crown” rotated every two seasons, with Claire Foy, Olivia Colman and Imelda Staunton successively performing in the lead role, as the Queen faced a changing, roiled world — and a shrunken British empire.In more domestic matters, Elizabeth also had her own family both to love and contend with.”

Besides “Shogun,” in the drama category, “The Crown” will face off with “Fallout” (Prime Video), “The Gilded Age” (Max), “The Morning Show” (Apple TV+), “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (Prime Video), “Slow Horses” (Apple TV+) and “3 Body Problem” (Netflix).

Also on this episode, Variety’s Adam B. Vary joins the Roundtable to preview this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, and give a few more thoughts about the Emmy nominations.

Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta,Jenelle Rileyand Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.

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