A passion project that lives in the great pantheon of unmade pitches.
It is not the beguiling array of talent swooned by Morgans prose.
Like all great producers, Harries is the consummate salesman.
Imelda Staunton, Oliva Colman, Claire Foy in ‘The Crown’ & Andy HarriesNetflix/Left Bank Pictures.
His story of how he shoppedThe Crownis now woven into British television folklore.
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The Crownwas turned down by nearly every game in town.
By Harries telling, the BBC and ITV passed for financial and political reasons.
Andy Harries at a celebration for ‘The Crown’s finale in London last weekGetty
They all scoffed at the plan, leaving Harries with one final option:Netflix.
His persistence finally paid off.
It was a brilliant idea that was too ambitious and big, Harries recalls.
Ten years on, Harries is not exactly modest when reflecting onThe Crownsachievements.
The Crownwas, and will always be, one of the summits of peak TV.
In the UK, we are the Everest, the executive producer says without a flicker of self-doubt.
There is a mountain of evidence to back this boast.
The show has collected 21 Emmy statues, five Golden Globes, and five BAFTAs.
The show has also added zeros to the UKs record-breaking 6.3B content factory.
But more than this, Harries argues thatThe Crownhas also enhanced the reputation of the monarchy itself.
Harries comparesThe Crownsreception in the UK to theNapoleonreviews in France, where Ridley Scotts feature was reviled by critics.
He explains: Every series ofThe Crownhas caused a reaction, thats the nature of having a global success.
Thats obviously been accompanied by a creep nearer and nearer to the present day.
So yes, the temperature has gone up for all of us involved.
Netflix ultimately rebuffed the intervention from then culture secretary Oliver Dowden.
It seemed odd that was necessary, Harries reflects on the row.
I was never of the view that everybody thought we had been tape-recording the royal family.
People are aware that Peter [Morgan] has invented the dialogue, how can it be otherwise?
So you watch it in that spirit.
Its a considered view of events as we have chosen to dramatize them.
Harries is convinced Major was told about the scene by a journalist before he saw the show.
It resulted in Netflix holding back preview screeners for Season 6.
Harries bristles a little at the suggestion thatThe Crownhas courted controversy.
Weve never been sensationalist.
Weve never dug into scandal.
Weve always tried to be appropriate and respectful, Harries responds.
Much of what we believe happened is reflected in the scripts.
This story is essentially 25 years old, thats quite quite a long time ago.
One can look back on that period and try and make some sense of it.
Thats what we have done and I stand by our interpretation of events.
Its not because hes reluctant to engage with the issues.
Ultimately, he cant resist going on the offensive.
Harries supports this theory with a sprinkling of gossip.
Prince William has not been so forthcoming about whetherThe Crownhas been on his watchlist.
William said to me: Oh, you produceThe Crown.
I said: I do, sir, do you enjoy it?
He said: Ive never watched.
There was no answer to that, Harries laughs.
Was he telling the truth, do you think?
I reckon hes had a little peep at it somewhere along the line.
A very surreal day, he remembers.
Six months later, the writer changed his mind, and the original vision was reinstated.
Thats 60 hours of television.
Physically as well as mentally, its an enormous amount of work.
He suddenly thought maybe he was running out of steam a bit.
This was another factor.
You knew the only way is down.
People get bored and turn against you.
Morgan got a second wind.
The short answer is no.
He has not had his head turned by Prince Harrys split from the family or Prince Andrews humbling.
I dont see the point, he observes sharply.
The actual reality was extraordinary and remains very vivid.
Im not sure what you gain from dramatizing it unless you provide real insight.
He acknowledges that the heady days when Netflix can commit to six seasons of a lavish drama are over.
They just wont have quite so many carriages, he explains.
Thats not to say thatThe Crownwont be re-hitched to the Netflix locomotive at some point in the future.
