I have finally been able to get Netflix (streaming) and I really like the whole series. I binged and watched the first two seasons and half of the third. As you say the scripts are extremely interesting if you want more of the personal stories behind the headlines. As a matter of fact it has been extremely interesting to me because my undergraduate work was in British history that focused predominately on a study of the kings/queens and Parliament. This series seems to have, as you say, much more of focus on the personal battles fought within the monarchy and sometimes in a skirmish with the PMs and Parliament. I find the acting to be overall (of what I have watched) to be extremely good. Of course, Claire Foy and Olivia Colman are two different actresses who have two different styles of acting but actually I found Colman's restraint to be a realistic portrayal of how the monarch changed over the years. You get a sense that this is going to happen when you see the very last scene where C. Beaton is trying to take the last photograph and Foy just looks "shell-shocked." And the transformation of Helena Bonham-Carter from Vanessa Kirby shows a realistic trampling down of a somewhat "free spirit" to a still spoiled princess. The production values remain consistently high.