What Time Does ‘The Crown’ Season 2 Release On Netflix?

After more than a year on break, “The Crown” Season 2 finally releases on Netflix this week. However, those who want to be first to see the historical drama on Dec. 8 will have to stay up late.

Like most Netflix series, the U.S. release time for “The Crown” Season 2 is 3 a.m. EST on Friday. East coasters might need something stronger than a cup of tea to stay up for that. West coast viewers have a slightly easier wait. Netflix releases the series simultaneously across the country, so they’ll reunite with the Queen (Claire Foy) at 12 a.m. PST.

Of course, viewers can only watch the series on Netflix, which is a subscription service. New users will be able to watch for free thanks to a 30-day trial. Others will have to pick a plan. Prices start at $7.99 a month, and viewers can watch on the Netflix website, app or via devices like Roku, Apple TV and more.

The last season of “The Crown” left off in 1955, and Season 2 will pick up shortly after that. However, it will move quickly into the 1960s. Queen Elizabeth II will be dealing with the Suez Crisis and meeting the Kennedys, but it’s her family that will cause the real trouble in her life.

After Elizabeth refused to give her sister Princess Margaret (Vanessa Kirby) permission to marry a divorced man, Peter Townsend (Ben Miles), the princess was heartbroken. Though she vowed to never marry, Margaret finds love again in Season 2. She’ll meet photographer Lord Snowdon (Matthew Goode), and their romance will heat up quickly.

The Queen has her own relationship to worry about. Prince Philip (Matt Smith) was last seen being sent off on a five-month tour of the Commonwealth countries. He didn’t want to go, and he even called the assignment “a betrayal.” When he returns, there will be rumors of infidelity, but the Queen will also give birth to two more children.

“If you strip away the royal family-ness of it, it’s two human beings,” Smith told the Guardian. “I challenge anyone if their partner said, ‘By the way, you’re going off for five months,’ to not go, ‘Whoa, hang on!’ And I defy anyone to be married as long as they have and it be plain sailing the whole way. As human beings, they’ve struggled.”

Smith and Foy, however, won’t be portraying that struggle much longer. “The Crown” Season 2 will be their last. As Elizabeth and Philip age, new actors will come in. Olivia Colman is set to play the monarch in Season 3. Other cast members have not been announced yet.