Editor’s NoteBut now that the theme song of
Western civ is “Burning Down the
House,” the Queen is the house, or
at least its stoutest pillar, topped by
a pillbox hat. We can never know
her, but would miss her terribly if
she weren’t around, sipping gin and
perusing the racing form.
Olivia Colman is hardly at all like
the queen she plays. When I met
her (memorable to me, not her),
she was holding an Oscar, about
which she was apologetic and baf-
fled. This, in the face of absurd
success, is what is known as the
English National Dance. Whatever
with that. Colman is indelible in
every role she plays because she is
manifestly sharp, a bit wicked, and
unhobbled by silly vanity. She and
the real-life Defender of the Faith
are women who know who they are
and get on with things. In any age,
that makes for real star quality.
Long may they both reign.I’VE BEEN BACKSTAGE AT THE
Palace. Buckingham, that is. In a
past life, I had a few encounters
with the royals, or rather, their
press people. For Queen Elizabeth
II, that meant entering a warren
of offices tucked belowstairs
at the most famous address in
the world. There, you do not
find mirrored halls and Gainsbor-
oughs but rat’s-nesty cubicles
and, as I remember it, a dingy
kitchenette with a sad stack of
Dixie cups by the coffee maker.The overall scene is more The
Office than Brideshead Revisited.
Point is, the royals have been
in the business of show since King
Egbert, with the messy stuff mostly
scooched out of view.
All that changed in the ’90s
(Diana, annus horribilis, etc.), and
for a few beats, The Royal Show’s
cancellation was rumored. Outside
of nursing homes and children’s
wards, most Brits likely would
have shipped the whole crew back
to Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.Olivia Totally Rules
BY → JD HEYMAN @JDHEYMAN
FOLLOW US ON: @EntertainmentWeekly @EntertainmentWeekly @EW @EWSnapsJD HEYMAN
WE CAN BE HEROES EW owned San Diego Comic-Con
from our perch at the Hard Rock Hotel, hosting a Facebook &
Instagram Stories Studio and a video series sponsored by the
all-new 2020 Toyota Corolla. We toasted Marvel’s Agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D. at a cocktail party, and capped off the week with a
bash sponsored by HBO and Johnnie Walker. That meant getting
to hang with (from left) Manny Jacinto, William Jackson Harper,
and D’Arcy Carden of NBC’s The Good Place. For more on EW’s
star-studded adventures at Comic-Con, turn to page 20.