Jonny Lee Miller Joins the Cast of 'The Crown' Season 5

Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes in "Elementary" (Photo: CBS)

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Elementary star Jonny Lee Miller has joined the packed cast of the upcoming fifth season of Netflix's The Crown

Miller will play Sir John Major -- which let's all just admit now is an attractiveness upgrade of a substantial degree - who was Prime Minister of the U.K. from 1990-1997. Major served in Margaret Thatcher's government as both Chancellor of the Exchequer and Foreign Secretary, and his time in office coincided with the last few years of Princess Diana's life (she died in 1996) which may give us some idea of the timing of The Crown's final two seasons. 

Though we don't know the specifics of what Season 5 of The Crown will include, it's rumored to feature the infamous Panorama interview in which Diana revealed the Prince of Wales' infidelity, and will also likely include "Black Wednesday," a momentous event early in Major's premiership when a collapse in the pound sterling forced Britain to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

Jonny Lee Miller will play John Major in the fifth season of The Crown. pic.twitter.com/woMcTQtUmb

— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) June 25, 2021

Miller first shot to global prominence playing heroin addict Sick Boy in director Danny Boyle's groundbreaking film Trainspottingbut these days he's probably best known for playing the iconic Sherlock Holmes on the CBS procedural Elementary, where he starred opposite Lucy Liu as a female version of John Watson. (And despite my own initial misgivings that show turned out to be much better than it had any right to be. It even had a female Moriarty!) And, of course, Benedict Cumberbatch fans have seen him swapping roles with the other modern-day Sherlock in the National Theatre production of Frankenstein.  

Season 5 of the popular Netflix period drama will feature the series' third and final complete cast change, with Imelda Staunton taking over as Queen Elizabeth, Jonathan Pryce playing Prince Philip, Lesley Manville assuming the role of Princess Margaret, and Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki playing Charles and Diana. According to Varietyfilming will begin in July, though we're unlikely to see new episodes until 2022. 

Are you looking forward to the next round of The Crown? Let's discuss in the comments. 


Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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