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The Crown season 4 review roundup: Gillian Anderson’s Margaret Thatcher called ‘jaw dropping’

Actor’s performance is even better than Meryl Streep’s, according to critics

Jacob Stolworthy
Tuesday 10 November 2020 09:47 GMT
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The Crown season 4 trailer

The Crown is returning to Netflix with a new season – and everyone is wondering what Gillian Anderson’s Margaret Thatcher will be like.

Reviews of the show have been released with many hailing the next batch of episodes as the drama's best yet.

Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies and Helena Bonham Carter are all returning for their final season joined by new addition Anderson as well as fellow new cast member Emma Corrin, who’ll play Princess Diana.

While many are excited to see how the series tackles Diana's marriage to Prince Charles (Josh O'Connor), others are intrigued to see how showrunner Peter Morgan has handled Thatcher.

Now, with the reviews out there, fans of the show can get a sense of whether Anderson’s role is successful or not.

According to critics, Anderson's performance is even better than Meryl Streep's, which won the actor an Oscar for The Iron Lady in 2012.

The Independent wrote: "Anderson has done something extraordinary in making an often vilified historical figure feel like a real human being."

Variety said that the actor does "the absolute most with the aid of a towering, immovable wig".

Journalist Scott Bryan branded her performance "jaw dropping", adding: "[I've] never seen anyone else able to portray her so well."

Meanwhile, The Playlist's review said that Anderson's Thatcher "should be the definitive performance [of the figure] for years to come".

The Crown season four will be available to stream on Netflix from Sunday (15 November).

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