Hate to break it to you, but if you're already looking forward to seeing Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville in The Crown, you're facing a bit of a wait.

Season five of the acclaimed period drama centered on the British Royal Family won't begin shooting until June 2021, Deadline reports, which means that it won't launch on Netflix until 2022. Coronavirus isn't to blame for the wait: producers are said to have been planning a filming break between season four and season five, anyway.

Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville will make their debuts in season five as Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret respectively. Though creator Peter Morgan said earlier this year that the show would bow out with its fifth season, he's recently changed his mind and confirmed that there will be a sixth season after all.

In the meantime, season four is expected to premiere later this year. Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter will return as Elizabeth and Margaret, joined by Gillian Anderson as controversial former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who led the country between 1979 and 1990 – the same period in which Prince Charles' difficult marriage to Princess Diana frequently made global headlines. Josh O'Connor will return as Charles with newcomer Emma Corrin portraying Diana.

Thankfully, production on season four wrapped just before the ongoing coronavirus crisis shut down TV and movie sets all over the world. You can whet your appetite by watching Colman and Bonham Carter chatting – hilariously, of course – about their roles in The Crown on The Graham Norton Show ahead of season three's premiere last year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0htcvq78nRY

Are you looking forward to the Imelda Staunton-led iteration of The Crown?