Back in January, reports surfaced that X-Files/The Fall veteran Gillian Anderson would be joining the cast of The Crown for its fourth series as iconic and contentious Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Nothing was officially confirmed at the time, but Netflix has gone ahead and announced her casting.
"I am so excited to be joining the cast and crew of The Crown and to have the opportunity to portray such a complicated and controversial woman," Anderson says. "Thatcher was undoubtedly formidable, but I am relishing exploring beneath the surface and, dare I say, falling in love with the icon who, whether loved or despised, defined an era."
With series three due to hit Netflix on 17 November, series four is in production now, with the new cast of Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies, Helena Bonham Carter and more in place. It'll coincide with Thatcher's time in the top job of British politics, and the political and social upheaval that characterized the 1980s. Still, given everything that is happening right now, we might actually look back at those times with more fondness than before...
Anderson will return to the streaming service next year for a second season of Sex Education, though it doesn't have a specific launch date yet.