Netflix announces sooner-than-expected final season for The Crown

Netflix's The Crown will take its final bow sooner than we thought.

The drama series centered around Queen Elizabeth II is coming to an end with its fifth season, which will see Imelda Staunton take over the role of Queen Elizabeth from Olivia Colman, showrunner Peter Morgan confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter on Friday. Colman debuted as the queen in the show's third season, which premiered in November, and will return for its fourth.

Morgan told the Reporter he had previously imagined the series would run for six seasons, but "now that we have begun work on the stories for season five it has become clear to me that this is the perfect time and place to stop." Morgan added, "I'm grateful to Netflix and Sony for supporting me in this decision."

Though Morgan cited creative reasons for the show's early conclusion, critics were surprised by the news it would wrap up so soon, with USA Today's Kelly Lawler observing that it "feels premature." Adweek's Jason Lynch also noted this comes on the same day that BoJack Horseman debuts a final season on Netflix after ending earlier than its creator hoped, with Lynch writing, "don't expect any Netflix shows to stick around for very long going forward."