Dear Netflix, Here Are Just Three Historical Stories That Would Be More Interesting Than The Crown
Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for historical drama – The Tudors, Reign, Vikings – I’ve watched them all. I truly believe there’s nothing quite like losing yourself in the everyday dramas of a seventeenth century king or lusting after the wardrobe of an earl’s daughter born four hundred years ago.
Unlike a lot of the angry people you can usually find ranting on lengthy Reddit threads, I don’t care much about historical accuracy, either. Real life – especially when it comes to the politics that usually forms the main theme of these shows – can be pretty damn boring sometimes. I’d much rather a show creator take some creative liberty to mould history into something worthy of a Hans Zimmer composition, than force me to sit through two hours of political negotiations in which the sighting of a non-white-straight-male character is about as likely as Sean Bean not dying. Yet, this becomes an issue when the history being discussed has a direct implication on real-life opinions on structures that are still in place today. Therefore, I often find myself analysing historical dramas to make sure they’re not veering too heavily from the truth.
You can imagine, then, that I was quite excited to begin watching Netflix’s most beloved historical drama, The Crown. Perhaps I’d been too busy re-watching Game of Thrones for the ninth time, but somehow, I had always managed to ignore the craze that surrounded this cherished series and held off on starting it until three months ago, overwhelmed with the fear that it might not live up to everyone’s glowing recommendations. (I’m fairly sure the main thing that finally got me to cave was the curiosity about Princess Diana that’s been instilled in me since birth – thanks, Mum.) This meant that by the time I started, I had four whole seasons ready made for me to greedily binge upon.
And boy, did I binge.
Season one took me less than a week to finish, enthralling me with its depictions of the Elizabeth-Churchill relationship and even bringing me to tears early on with King George’s untimely death. But as I reached season two, and the excitement of Elizabeth’s coronation seemed to have worn off for both myself and the characters, the show became arguably more realistic and well… boring. Perhaps it was simply because the drama depicted was inching closer and closer to present day, but I just didn’t find that the spectacle of Princess Margaret’s steamy love affairs was entertaining enough to make up for dreariness of Elizabeth and Phillip’s ultimately pointless marital issues and the dull nature of post-war British politics. Moreover, it’s arguable that whilst the fondly presented Lillabet remains on the throne, The Crown’s sensational fabrication of her reign approaches, at times, the fringes of propaganda.
After the recent Meghan and Harry interview, I can’t help but find that fact just a little bit uncomfortable.
Therefore, as much as The Crown’s earlier episodes may have worked to quench my thirst for theatrical, melodramatic depictions of history, I’d like to suggest that it might be time to use its £100 million budget elsewhere. History is just bursting with thrilling stories, and most of them are yet to be brought to the small screen. So, Netflix, if you happen to be reading this, here’s just three historical figures and events that I believe would make considerably more entertaining television than the reign of Queen Elizabeth ll. (Bonus: for each of these, you probably wouldn’t even have to make anything up.)
1. Susan Ahn Cuddy
You’ve probably never heard of her, but Susan Ahn Cuddy’s story is absolutely fascinating and would make an excellent piece of television. Her parents were Korean independence activists Ahn Chang-ho and Helen Ahn, the first married Korean couple to emigrate to the United States in 1902. After establishing themselves in the US, the couple’s home became the headquarters for the Young Korean Academy (Hung Sa Dan), a sort of resource centre for Korean immigrants. They continued to fight for Korean independence until they passed away, Ahn Cuddy’s father eventually dying for the cause in 1938 after frequent imprisonment and torture by Japanese forces. As if her family’s story isn’t already interesting enough, Ahn Cuddy then went on to become the first female enlisted in the US navy. She worked her way up through the ranks rapidly and was soon training fighter pilots how to shoot down enemy aircrafts and, by the time the cold war rolled around, was working for the National Security Agency, in charge of over 300 agents. Ahn Cuddy proved to be ground-breaking in her personal life too, defying laws against interracial relationships when she married Irish American, Francis X. Cuddy in 1947.
Think about it, Ahn Cuddy’s story has everything that The Crown has and more. There would be room for tense political discussions, epic romance, and a seriously intriguing look at the US’s role in the Korean fight for independence from Japan.
2. The Mongol Empire
Think Game of Thrones, but without any need for dragons, dark magic and white walkers to fuel the drama. The Mongol Empire, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, eventually became the largest land empire in history and arguably, its effects are still being felt in certain parts of the world to this today. A series focusing on this empire could easily cover generations of politics and war, and would arguably have settings, costumes and musical scores that The Crown could only dream of.
Sure, the cost to create such a show would be astronomical, but I can guarantee that the scenes produced would be ten times more enjoyable and twenty times less mildly nationalist than the depictions of Elizabeth’s early years on the throne.
Plus, the cast would be mostly non-white. (Which is something we could definitely do with a little more of on Western television nowadays.)
3. Anne Bonny - The Pirate
This one is a purely self-indulgent suggestion, as I’d kill for a series about real-life pirates, and the main character being a woman wouldn’t hurt either. Anne Bonny was one of the only recorded female pirates in history, and her story sure is an unusual one.
Her early life would provide a great start to a series: in Bonny’s early days, her father dressed her as a boy and called her Andy, training her to be a clerk after he moved with her to London to get away from his wife’s family. Eventually they moved to Carolina, where Bonny’s life only became more intriguing. By age thirteen, she supposedly had a fiery enough temper for her to stab a serving girl with a knife. Bonny was later disowned by her father after marrying small-time pirate James Bonny, and whilst it’s not thought to be true, the story in which she set his plantation on fire as revenge would certainly be a fabulous ending for an opening episode.
Her pirate life was where the drama truly started, however. Bonny met John Rackman and left her husband for him, the two of the escaping together and Bonny becoming a member of her lover’s crew. The story that ensued involves all of the melodrama that The Crown has had to warp real history to even come close to producing, Bonny’s love affairs on Rackman’s vessel resulting in a lesbian relationship turned throuple. Where do you get that in the British royal family?
Of course, it would be pretty easy to steer away from true history with this one, some aspects of Bonny’s story remaining unknown. However, I’m almost certain that any fabrication would be much less harmful than those in The Crown’s recreation of recent history.
For the most part, I am kidding. I can’t deny that Netflix has produced some wonderful historical dramas over the last few years, many of which I’ve enjoyed immensely. For once, however, it might be nice to see some diverse stories from history be given the same kind of focus (and preposterous budget) that we seem to happily hand over to stories of white, rich, and ultimately repetitious Brits. Is that too much to ask?
Written by Erin Lister
Erin is a recent English graduate, currently living in Manchester and working as a teaching assistant. She's obsessed with all things music, theatre and television and hopes to one day write about them for a living.