The Royal Treatment: 3 Things to See If You Watched The Crown and Wanted a Little More Fun

Let's face it: there are a lot of shows (and movies) that tackle the purported lives of royalty. You have your British royalty spanning the ages (everything from The Tudors to The Windsors) and your French royalty gamut (heard of Reign or Versailles?) yet not much else. With The Crown becoming a gradual hit for Netflix over its past four seasons and the real lives of royalty recently crashing back into the worldwide public conversation, it's hard not to try and figure out why. What is our fascination with royalty? What draws us to these dramatics among princes and princesses, duchesses and dukes, and the ways of courtly life? Is it curiosity or envy? Or are we just keen to see ways in which royals struggle just the same as any other red-blooded human beings? The world may never know.

But I know one thing: there are some shows that have gone under the radar with regard to royal personas and their follow-throughs. While you may be tempted to go watch Philippa Gregory's takes on British royal history as you wait for season five of The Crown, here are some alternatives that may catch your attention if you give them a chance.

3. Princess Hours (2006)

If you've never watched a Korean drama in your life, I understand: there are so many, and it's quite daunting to pick one out of potentially thousands of options. But some of the fun ones often take real-world constructs and twist them in such a fashion that they feel fresh and new. Case in point, imagine: what if South Korea still had its own monarchy? And how would that situation play out?

Oh, and did I mention it's a romance too?

The site Viki describes Princess Hours thusly:

This is an alternate history drama that is based on Park So Hui's 'Gung' with the reinstatement of the Korean monarchy in August 15, 1945, along with its liberation and establishes Year 1 of Gwanghwa. In 2006, 'Year 14 of Inhwa,' an overly normal high school girl that attends an arts high school ends up marrying the Crown Prince, who is dating Min Hyo Rin, because of a promise that the elders made decades earlier, and becomes the Crown Princess. But due to the failing health of the King, many problems occur in the aftermath. That's when Hwa Yeong, the former Crown Princess and her son, second in line to the throne, Prince Yul, return from 14 years away in England. Their ultimate aim being to take the throne. But Prince Yul ends up falling in love with the average high school girl turned Crown Princess, Shin Chae Gyeong, and one calamity after another continues to plague the Royal Family.

If you're looking for personal drama in the way it unfolds in a series like The Crown, then Princess Hours may be up your alley simply because the characters ARE the drama in this show. Nothing would happen if they did not act and make choices that affect the episodes going forward. While there's a slight "learning curve" for K-dramas, you should be able to gain your watch-footing within the first episode. And Korean politeness and etiquette all on their own could give British sensibilities a run for their money. Even just seeing a (GASP!) kiss on screen will seem scandalous with the way (early-2000s) K-dramas were laid out.

I won't say Princess Hours is a mind-blowing watch, but it's the kind of show that ranks high in its entertainment factor. And don't we all need a little bit more of that in our lives?

Princess Hours is streaming now on Viki.

2. The King 2 Hearts (2012)

The King 2 Hearts is one of those Korean dramas that might make you go, "Oh no, they didn't!" Following an alternate timeline where North Korea and South Korea are trying to build a coalition between them, the series focuses on tensions that play out on a world stage with the two countries hanging in the balance. It's quite dramatic but in a tasteful manner. And it does beg the question: can a bond of love affect the way politics unfold on a global playing field? It's something to think about.

The quick synopsis from Viki goes like this:

A female North Korean Special Forces officer and a foolhardy and audacious South Korean prince overcome prejudice, obstacles, and the eyes of the world as they grow their love for each other.

Though this show is less played for laughs and melodrama than a K-drama like Princess Hours, you'll find yourself drawn to the characters and their fates even as you wonder and contemplate, "This can't end well." But in K-drama land there are always in-roads to hope and understanding, even when everything else feels pretty bleak. If anything else, The King 2 Hearts will make you a fan of the two main characters and their actors (Lee Seung-gi as the prince and Ha Ji-won as the female lead) who light up the screen with their interplay and chemistry. And there's plenty of drama to go around!

The King 2 Hearts is streaming now on Viki.

1. The Great (2020)

I'll just come out and say it: The Great is honestly just a fun time all around. It was probably my favorite watch of 2020, and I think Elle Fanning is perfection as Catherine the Great. It's a show that shocked and awed me and kept me watching till the wee hours of the morning. It's that good.

Hulu's description for the show goes like this (and is more useful than my flails of gushing):

The Great is a satirical, comedic drama about the rise of Catherine the Great from outsider to the longest reigning female ruler in Russia's history. A fictionalized, fun and anachronistic story of an idealistic, romantic young girl, who arrives in Russia for an arranged marriage to the mercurial Emperor Peter. Hoping for love and sunshine, she finds instead a dangerous, depraved, backward world that she resolves to change. All she has to do is kill her husband, beat the church, baffle the military and get the court onside. A very modern story about the past which encompasses the many roles she played over her lifetime as lover, teacher, ruler, friend, and fighter.

If you don't mind some crudeness and overt sexuality, then The Great is probably the perfect cousin to something like The Crown. Even if you have a good handle of history (which, admittedly, I do not), there's a lot of heart to this show about a young woman who has to adapt to a new land while trying to stay true to herself, her ideals, and her hopes. Though she gets knocked down quite a bit along the way, just her growth as a character alone is something to behold. You'll fall in love with Catherine and root for her as the episodes go on until you're clamoring for a second season. Huzzah!

The Great is streaming now on Hulu.

Didn't find anything new to watch from this short list? That's okay; I tried. I also have recommendations for movies for the anime lover and K-dramas for the romance aficionado if you're following the "If This, Then That" challenge. I hope you're introduced to some new media at the very least!