The Front Page: From Dahmer to The Crown - Netflix faces growing questions over fictionalising history

The latest season of The Crown could be the most controversial. Photo / Netflix

Netflix’s Royal drama The Crown returns this week and is already sparking widespread controversy.

The drama has been attacked by the British press and actors such as Dame Judi Dench over how it blurs the line between fact and fiction.

Dench wrote an open letter calling on the show to feature a disclaimer advising viewers that the show was not historically accurate.

It’s just the latest Netflix product “based on true events” to face this type of criticism – with Dahmer, The Watcher and The Stranger all facing similar backlash in recent months.

Relatives of victims of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer say they are being forced to relive their trauma, while other critics also express concern that the show could endear the serial killer to some viewers.

Meanwhile, The Watcher has been criticised for veering away from what actually happened. And the parents of murder victim Daniel Morcombe have demanded that film promotors stop using the name of their son to promote The Stranger.

All of this poses some interesting questions about historical drama and the impact this can have on those who actually lived through the events.

On today’s episode of the Front Page podcast, NZ Herald lifestyle and entertainment editor and One Day You’ll Thank Me co-host Jenni Mortimer, and NZ Herald crime writer and A Moment in Crime’s Anna Leask join Damien Venuto to discuss the ethics of drawing on the past to tell stories in the present.

So are royalists like Dench just being sensitive or do they have a point?

How important is the truth when it comes to entertainment? How do you revisit the past events in a way that’s sensitive to those who were involved? And do audiences even care about the lines crossed if they’re being entertained?

Listen to today’s episode of The Front Page for answers to these questions.