After six seasons, three casts, and ten years, the multi-award-winning show draws to a close. To celebrate, Netflix published “The Crown: Behind The Streams”, a report that brings together exclusive research from TikTok, Google, and Skyscanner.
The report reveals the series’ impact, the people and communities involved in each season, and the ways in which it has shaped culture.
Let’s take a look.
TikTok: CROWNTOK CREATIONS
Whether it’s fashion inspiration, the nostalgic decade-defining music featured in the show, or the actors’ spectacular performances, the series’ popularity transcends the screen, with millions of fans heading online to share, react to, and sometimes recreate each episode.
TikTok analyzed what happens when The Crown and online fandoms collide.
- The Crown has generated over 6.1 billion views on TikTok as creators react, reshare, and recreate their favorite moments on the platform.
- 73.5 million views on TikTok for #PrincessDianaStyle
- Princess Diana, the fashion icon of the ’90, The Crown has recreated some of her best and most-loved fashion moments, helping to bring these back into the cultural zeitgeist once again. #PrincessDianaFashion currently has 9.2 million views on TikTok, as creators share their favorite looks of hers and recreate these with their own creative flair.
- 80.3 million views on TikTok for #TheCrownSeason6
- 1.7 billion views on TikTok for #TheCrownNetflix
SEARCHING FOR THE CROWN
According to YouGov. 50% of The Crown viewers aged 18 – 24 even say that the series has inspired them to learn more about 20th-century events depicted in the show.
Unsurprisingly, people with strong connections to the monarchy have taken to Google to learn more about the historical and cultural events portrayed in The Crown.
TOP FIVE COUNTRIES SEARCHING THE CROWN SINCE SEASON 1:
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- Australia
- Belarus
- New Zealand
The Crown is a fictional drama series that takes inspiration from real-life events. According to Google’s data, viewers have shown an interest in exploring the historical events depicted in the show. After the airing of the first three seasons of “The Crown”, there was a significant increase in online searches related to royal history.
- Questions about who Princess Margaret married also made it to the top five trending questions after Season 2, as Vanessa Kirby’s on-screen love story with Matthew Goode’s Antony Armstrong-Jones sparked mainstream interest in the Princess’s love life.
- Throughout the series, Google also saw a huge interest in lesser-known royals. Lord Mountbatten, also known as Uncle Dickie, made it into the top five trending searches related to The Crown Seasons 2 and 4, as people sought to learn more about who he was and the actors who played him (Greg Wise in Seasons 1-2 and Charles Dance in Season 3-4).
- Moments in history shown in The Crown also prompted a wave of discovery. In fact, following Season 3, which depicted the Aberfan mining disaster in Wales, Google searches for the tragic event increased by more than 5000%.
- People also Googled to find out more information about Princess Alice, including the actress who played her, Jane Lapotaire, after Season 3, as well as Penny Knatchbull (Countess Mountbatten), played by Natascha McElhone, after Season 5.
- Viewers have also been inspired to research the actors featured in The Crown, including new breakout stars from the show. When Season 4 aired in 2020, Google searches for Emma Corrin, who plays Princess Diana in the season, increased by 330%. Likewise, search interest for Vanessa Kirby increased by 190% after she portrayed Princess Margaret between Seasons 1 and 2.
THE CROWN SEASONS RANK BY SEARCH INTEREST
LOCATIONS FEATURED IN THE CROWN HAVE SEEN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SEARCH INTEREST
The Crown offers an extraordinary view of some of the UK’s most stunning estates and heritage homes. In addition to brilliant performances, set design, and writing, over a third of people claim that the castles and manors are their favorite aspect of the show, according to YouGov. Whether they are located in the picturesque Scottish highlands or the bustling metropolis of London, viewers have turned to Google to learn more about the places they’ve seen on screen. In fact, “Where was The Crown filmed?” was one of the most popular Googled questions each season.
CROWN SET-JETTING
According to Skyscanner The Crown has inspired travelers to plan trips to the UK and visit iconic royal-related places featured in the show.
- According to Skyscanner’s recent Travel Trends report, 25% of global travelers say that The Crown has inspired them to want to visit London in 2024.
- When Season 3 of The Crown premiered on 17th November 2019, worldwide flight searches to London increased by 21% on Skyscanner compared to the previous day.
- Little over a week after Season 4 debuted on 24th November 2020, with stunning depictions of Balmoral Castle, Skyscanner saw a 53% increase in global fight searches for Aberdeen compared to searches made prior to the season dropping on the 14th November.
COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST SEARCH VOLUME TO THE UK AFTER EACH SEASON
THE CROWN’S HOMEGROWN TALENT
The Crown takes around eight months to film and several months to prepare for each season. The success of the show is largely attributed to the set and production design, which transported viewers to various locations such as Balmoral, 10 Downing Street, Australia, and New Zealand. Over the course of six seasons, the production team created around 2,000 sets, each containing at least 100 props. This means they sourced almost a quarter of a million individual pieces. To achieve the desired authentic look of each set, the team had to build traditional Victorian toilets from scratch, craft a proportional version of the infamous 10 Downing Street door, and ensure that John Lithgow’s height remained true to Winston Churchill’s.
- 2,617 full-time jobs were created over all six seasons of The Crown
- 2,000 sets were created over the span of six seasons
- It is estimated The Crown costume department made a total of 800 original, bespoke costumes.
- The three Queen Elizabeths wore a total of 500 costumes throughout six seasons
- Creative careers have been supported by six seasons of the show — from wig maker Alex Rouse — whose team grew to 15 people whilst delivering Thatcher wigs and Prince Phillip top pieces – to Milliner Sean Barrrett who made over 100 hats for the show, including 32 just for the Queen.
- The costume that took the longest to make was Diana’s wedding dress, with the costume department working for 600 hours over four months to perfect the look. That’s almost the length of 400 polo matches!
BEHIND THE STREAMS
The production of The Crown has had a large ripple effect on the economy and wider supply chain beyond the UK film, TV, and advertising sectors.
In fact, for every pound of investment by Netflix in the creation of The Crown:
- 2.7 pence was spent with suppliers of electronic goods (e.g. providers of electrical equipment).
- 2.3 pence was spent with suppliers of legal and accounting services (e.g. production finance accountants).
- 1.8 pence was spent with providers of wholesale trade services (e.g. wholesalers of retail goods).
This is calculated by taking into account both direct spending on the production of The Crown and the impact of that spending elsewhere in the supply chain.
You can see the full impact of spending on The Crown across the 15 most affected economic sectors below.
Netflix has made generous contributions to local communities and businesses in Bradford, Hull, Liverpool, and Manchester. For instance, the company donated £600,000 to The National Trust and English Heritage for the use of locations across the UK. Additionally, Netflix has supported the restoration of several historic churches and cathedrals in the UK, including Ely Cathedral, York Minster, and Greenwich Chapel, where parts of the series were filmed. These donations are helping to preserve and restore these significant landmarks for future generations.
