Between the return of Poldark in a brooding second series, and the launch of ITV's hugely successful Victoria, period drama fans are being spoiled in 2016.
Now Netflix are here to blow the competition out of the water with their huge new royal drama The Crown.
The show launches on Friday November 4 and is already garnering glittering reactions for its portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II and her remarkable (and continuing) reign, with Wolf Hall’s Claire Foy and former Doctor Who actor Matt Smith taking on the roles of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
Here are the big figures you need to know about your next favourite show.
Alex Bailey/Netflix21: the age of Queen Elizabeth II when we meet her in The Crown
The series starts just before Elizabeth’s marriage to Philip in 1947, when she was aged 21.
They were married for over four years before she became Queen, and much of the show revolves around how her ascendancy changed her relationship with Philip.
£100,000,000: rumoured budget
It’s fair to say that Netflix have gone all-out to make The Crown not just the biggest period drama, but perhaps the biggest TV show ever made.
The ten episode season is rumoured to have cost a staggering £100 million, with lavish production design, costumes, extras and more.
However, Netflix is famously secretive over its numbers, especially regarding budgets and viewing figures.
Allow Exco Player content
This content is provided by Exco Player and may use cookies or similar technologies. Please click 'Allow and Continue' below to load the content.
10: episodes arriving on Friday November 4
In true Netflix style, the first series of The Crown is arriving in full with all ten episodes being available to stream at once.
Each is an hour long, and they’ve all been scripted by Peter Morgan, who wrote the Oscar-winning 2006 film The Queen (starring Helen Mirren), as well as Frost/Nixon and The Other Boleyn Girl.
7000: extras who appear in Season 1
In an interview, Claire Foy claimed that there are 7000 extras who appear through the course of the ten-hour series. “Isn’t that insane?” she said. Quite. Matt Smith has also spoken of ‘hundreds of extras’ turning up for filming on location.
While Downton Abbey proved a huge hit, The Crown tells a much wider-ranging story that ventures from London, to Malta and various Commonwealth countries as Elizabeth and Philip make their royal visits.
Allow Exco Player content
This content is provided by Exco Player and may use cookies or similar technologies. Please click 'Allow and Continue' below to load the content.
Six: proposed seasons
If all goes according to plan, The Crown has a bright future ahead of it – with a reported six seasons of the show in the works.
Read More
Each is set to consist of ten episodes, charting the course of the 20th Century monarchy across a total of sixty instalments.
Season Two is already shooting – so it semes the show will definitely be returning for more episodes.