Celebrity / TV

‘The Crown’ Costs Netflix $13 Million Per Episode

Netflix series 'The Crown' is a popular show and costs the streaming platform millions per episode to create.

by Victoria Koehl

Published on November 27, 2020

3 min read

Fans of period dramas and the British royal family may enjoy watching the Netflix original The Crown. The series focuses on the lives of the royal family.

Some of the events depicted are accurate, while others are not. The final season of the show got announced earlier this year.

Despite each season only having 10 episodes, the production costs for the show are very high. Each episode requires millions of dollars to make due to factors like costuming.

‘The Crown’ is about the British royal family

The Crown is a historical drama series that centers around the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. It first aired in 2016 and has four seasons so far. The show has a large cast of stars, with new actors getting cast as the characters age.

The story portrays Queen Elizabeth II’s life from her wedding in the late 1940s to the early 21st century. There are several side plots concerning other members of the royal family. For example, Princess Margaret decides not to marry Peter Townsend.

The show features Winston Churchill when he resigns as the prime minister in the first season. The Crown covers important events like the Suez Crisis.

In the most recent season, the series depicts Prince Charles and Princess Diana, as well as Margaret Thatcher. The princess and prince’s struggling marriage is a large part of their storyline.

The Crown became popular among viewers. Its detailed depiction of the lives of the royal family earned the show several nominations and awards.

‘The Crown’ is an expensive show to create

Duty calls. Queen Elizabeth II takes the salute at the Trooping the Colour ceremony outside Buckingham Palace. pic.twitter.com/hSCle2jvBg
— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) November 16, 2020

Originally, The Crown was going to be six seasons, but the creator announced that it would end after its fifth one. Showrunner Peter Morgan stated the reason for the early ending is that season six would have been too close to current times.

However, there has been speculation that the cost of the show is the real reason for the decision. The Crown is one of the most expensive Netflix original series. According to MarketWatch, the production costs average around $130 million a season.

The reason for such a high budget is due to how pricey each episode ends up being. On average, an episode of the show costs $13 million to make. It is about as expensive as the show ER.

Netflix likely stopped the show early to give a portion of its budget to a new series to bring in more subscribers. Some fans predict that season five will arrive in 2021. However, there have been rumors that it will continue for at least another season.

The sets and costumes contribute to the budget

The Netflix original is an ambitious period drama. The first season appears to be one of the most expensive compared to other seasons. It ended up needing a total of $140 million to produce. Why does the show require so much money to make?

There are a lot of different components that go into making The Crown, such as actors and equipment. One of the factors that play into the price tag is the costuming. The series uses elaborate clothing for the characters, and it likely uses a higher quality material than some other shows.

On top of clothing design, the show requires a minimum of 7,000 costumes. One of the clothing items was none other than a reproduction of Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding dress. The dress reportedly cost the studio around $30,000.

Creators of the series even went as far as to create a life-size replica of the Buckingham Palace. The actual building is quite large and has a lavish interior design. Producing a copy of the palace may have proved to be a hefty expense.