'The Crown' Renewed On Netflix: Debut Ratings Low Despite Raves? Season 2 In Production, Peter Morgan Holds Off Season 3

"The Crown," the royal drama based on the life of Queen Elizabeth II, has been released on Netflix last Friday, Nov. 4, with 10 episodes. The show has been receiving raves and positive reviews from critics and viewers alike. But unfortunately, its debut ratings have apparently been low.

Unofficial numbers gathered by Symphony Advanced Media on "The Crown's" debut puts the series at 496,000 viewers for the first week. It earned the 26th rank among all shows debuting on Netflix since the streaming site started delivering original shows.

"The Crown's" numbers are only a notch higher than the Netflix canceled series "Bloodline," The Wrap reports. It should be noted, however, that Netflix doesn't recognize the data from Symphony Advanced Media and the streaming site has never officially released ratings numbers.

"The Crown" has been cited as Netflix's most expensive original series to date with its $130 million budget, Independent reports. Despite the unofficial and less than impressive debut numbers, the show has already snagged a second season renewal.

TV Series Finale reports that "The Crown" Season 2 is already in production with stars Claire Foy (Queen Elizabeth II) and Matt Smith (Prince Philip). It will tackle the second decade of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, which will no longer have Winston Churchill (John Lithgow).

Meanwhile, "The Crown" creator Peter Morgan said that he's not yet committing to a third season. "I'm not thinking beyond this," the writer told The Hollywood Reporter. "The agreement I made with Netflix is that I would wait and see how the show was received before ever considering continuing."

There have been reports that should "The Crown" receive a third season renewal then it's likely that its principal actors will be replaced since the characters have become realistically much older. "It would be one season of her as the Young Queen, one season of her as the Middle-Aged Queen, one season of her as an Old Queen," Peter Morgan said when he was developing "The Crown."

Watch the video below for a short review on "The Crown." The first season is already available for streaming on Netflix globally.