Netflix released a statement Saturday declaring it has no intention to add a disclaimer to its hit series “The Crown” expressing that the show is a work of fiction.
According to The Associated Press, the statement comes in response to a plea from British Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to add the disclaimer in the wake of the show’s newly released fourth season.
Netflix’s statement (via The Associated Press) reads:
We have always presented ‘The Crown’ as a drama — and we have every confidence our members understand it’s a work of fiction that’s broadly based on historical events. As a result we have no plans — and see no need — to add a disclaimer.
Dowden recently told the British news site The Daily Mail that there is an inherent danger that comes with an entire generation of TV viewers growing up under the impression that the events depicted in “The Crown” all really happened, AV Club reports.
He said via People:
It’s a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that. ... Without (a disclaimer), I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.
According to People, Dowden is not the only figure calling for a disclaimer. Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother, recently expressed his feelings about the issue during an interview on the British television program ITV News. He said (via The Associated Press):
I think it would help ‘The Crown’ an enormous amount if, at the beginning of each episode, it stated that, ‘This isn’t true but it is based around some real events. ... I worry people do think that this is gospel and that’s unfair.
The Associated Press reports that historical fidelity wasn’t a major area of dispute during the show’s earlier seasons, which took place in the 1950s and ’60s. What makes Season 4 different is that it’s set in the 1980s, a divisive decade in Britain that sees the royal family’s storyline inching closer to the present day.
The show’s creator, Peter Morgan , who also directed the acclaimed historical drama features “The Queen” and “Frost/Nixon,” defends his work and states that it is “thoroughly researched and true in spirit,” according to The Associated Press.