A whole bunch of people watched The Crown this weekend, for some reason

The Crown has jumped back into the top 10 most popular English language Netflix shows after the death of Queen Elizabeth II last week. The series about the British royal family has been one of the streamer’s most acclaimed properties since its debut in 2016, but a new season hasn’t been released since 2020, having been delayed by the pandemic.

At seventh place with over 17.5 million hours watched, The Crown ranks just after Partner Track, the soapy series about a high-end Manhattan law firm that premiered at the end of August. It’s trailed by over a million hours by Stranger Things, which has spent 16 weeks in the top 10; new episodes of the sci-fi favorite were released in May and July. With 106.7 million hours logged, the chart was dominated by The Karate Kid sequel series Cobra Kai, which launched its fifth season this weekend.

Claire Foy originated the role of Queen Elizabeth II at the dawn of her coronation in 1953 and played the monarch for two seasons. She was then replaced by Olivia Colman, who covered her reign from the mid ‘60s to the ‘80s. The fifth season, arriving this fall, will see Imelda Staunton taking up the role as the royals enter a new era.

The sixth season of The Crown is currently in production, but filming paused following the death of the real-life inspiration for its central character. As reported by CNN, the cast and crew will also take a day off for the royal funeral. However, People reported that Elizabeth Debicki, who will portray Princess Diana, was photographed in costume on Monday, suggesting that production has resumed.

The events depicted in the series are rapidly catching up to modern times. New castings for Prince William and Kate Middleton were recently announced for season six, as The Crown prepares to cover the fallout from the death of Princess Diana in 1997.