58 Time November 18, 2019
TimeOff Television
Jules (Dennings), plus feline palColman’s Elizabeth, with a palace employee, prepares to enter the spotlightin The 1960s, as The BriTish econ-
omy stagnated and youth movements
raged against the establishment, the
royal family started to worry. How long
could a largely ornamental monarchy
keep justifying its tax- supported exis-
tence to its broke, disaffected subjects?
Queen Elizabeth II dodged these ques-
tions by granting a BBC crew limited
access to her family in an effort to make
the House of Windsor relatable. But
when Royal Family aired, in June 1969,
the Queen found its “Royals, they’re
just like us!” tone humiliating. It hasn’t
been screened in full since the ’70s.
That debacle is recounted in Season 3
of Netflix’s The Crown—a drama that
similarly seeks common ground be-
tween regular proles and the notorious ly
aloof Elizabeth. As was always the plan,
new episodes swap out an original cast
led by Claire Foy for an older cohort
built around The Favourite Oscar win-
ner Olivia Colman. In terms of perfor-
mances, The Crown 2.0 marks an im-
provement over its fine predecessor.
The versatile Colman makes a more
complex Elizabeth, one who isn’t brittle
so much as ill at ease in her own exalted
skin. While Matt Smith’s Prince Philip
felt like stunt casting, Tobias Menzies
disappears into the role. Helena BonhamREVIEW
Olivia Colman dons The CrownCarter as Princess Margaret is just as fun
as you’d hope, though Matthew Goode’s
roguish Lord Snowdon will be missed.
It helps that by placing new actors in
a centuries-old, frozen-in-time palace,
creator Peter Morgan highlights how
difficult it must be for humans who age
and evolve to occupy such rigid, dated
roles. This has been The Crown’s main
theme since Season 1, yet watching dif-
ferent bodies persist through new Prime
Ministers, PR nightmares and photo ops
deepens the emotional impact.
Sadly, the story itself is getting old.
The same aura of mystery that Eliza-
beth defends in the documentary epi-
sode also limits the mostly reverent
Morgan’s insight into his characters, to
the extent that their conflicts get repeti-
tive. Elizabeth and Margaret keep re-
senting each other, as when the princess
charms LBJ with dirty limericks. The
moon landing makes Philip long for one
more adventure, while Charles (Josh
O’Connor) is sent off to another remote
school for political reasons. Morgan has
made his point that it isn’t easy being
royal. But like Elizabeth, he avoids ask-
ing whether such rarefied problems are
worth the price so many pay. —J.B.THE CROWN premieres Nov. 17 on NetflixR E V I E W
Kat Dennings
meets Cat Lady
Dollface’s genesis is a Peak TV
Cinderella story. Conceived
as a writing sample by Jordan
Weiss, the script about a
woman recovering from a
bad breakup found its way to
Margot Robbie’s production
company. Now it’s a Hulu
comedy series.
You can see why the idea
made an impression. Swerving
between fantasy and reality,
the show follows a freshly
dumped Jules (Kat Dennings)
as she boards a bus driven
by a cat- headed humanoid
and filled with crying women.
After years of sharing her ex’s
life, she’s en route to the land
of sisterhood. Outside the
window, “guys’ girls” roam the
desert mumbling about video
games. Yet when Jules reaches
the terminal where she’s to
reunite with her girlfriends,
no one is waiting for her.
Eventually, Jules locates her
pals (Brenda Song and Shay
Mitchell), whom she has long
neglected.
Dollface remains
exuberantly weird as the
season progresses; the Cat
Lady is a regular. If only the
show stayed consistent once
other writers enter the mix.
Instead, Weiss’s original vision
becomes as fragmented as
Jules’ heart. —Judy Berman
DOLLFACE premieres Nov. 15
on Hulu