'The Crown' season 5 review roundup: Here's what critics think of royal drama's new season

The first reviews for the fifth season of 'The Crown' are here. The Netflix royal drama series traces the reign of Queen Elizabeth II from her coronation to the present. In the late season, the series enters the 1990s, arguably the most turbulent and contentious for the Windsors (the royal family), at least on a personal level. These years saw, among other things, the highly-publicised marital troubles between Princess Diana and Prince Charles, whose romance had been said to be akin to a fairy tale, their eventual split, and later, Diana's death in an accident. The expectations from the season were thus high.

Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce replace Olivia Colman and Tobias Menzies as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, respectively. Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki also star as Prince Charles and Princess Diana, respectively, replacing Josh O'Connor and Emma Corrin.

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'The Crown' has faced criticism over its alleged inaccuracy and unfair portrayal of the royals. But this time around, the scrutiny is even more heightened. In fact, even before its premiere, season 5 of the royal drama has already been censured for being "unkind" and "exploitative" after reports emerged that the show will delve deep into the breakdown of the aforementioned marriage, and imply that Prince Charles wanted to oust his mother as the monarch and establish himself.

Here are some of the reviews of 'The Crown' Season 5:

Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson writes, "The fifth season really zings when the show turns a hard gaze toward the maddening ways that Elizabeth and her cohort refuse compassion and adaptation."

ABC News' Peter Travers writes, "Though nothing can rival the Emmy-winning 2020 chapters, Season 5 still proves an ambitious and addictive blast of delicious royal intrigue. The new cast, led by Imelda Staunton as the Queen and dynamite Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, is sheer perfection."

CNN's Brian Lowry writes, "The Crown has been great... and it’s still pretty good. Yet given the highs that the younger versions of these characters delivered, to borrow from the Queen, watching the current season feels more like a preference than a requirement."

Slant Magazine's Amanda Feinman was less enthusiastic about the season. "The show’s fifth installment is both more simplistic and less coherent than past seasons," she writes.

The Times UK's Carol Midgley writes, "Despite the thousands of outraged words that have been written accusing it of turning the royal family into a cheap soap opera, I’m afraid the first three episodes are ditchwater dull. But here’s the good news. It gets better. Much better."

'The Crown' season 5's synopsis reads, "Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign. It’s a new decade, and the royal family are facing what may be their biggest challenge yet: proving their continued relevance in ‘90s Britain. As Diana and Charles wage a media war, cracks begin to splinter the royal foundation."

'The Crown' season 5 premieres on November 9.