The sophomore season of the historical and biographical drama series "The Crown" has finally premiered on Netflix. Avid fans will surely finish watching the 10-episode second season before the weekend is over. However, they may need to wait another year to get the next set of episodes. By then, the show will not look the same as a series-wide recasting is being done for the highly acclaimed drama.

The first season of "The Crown" premiered in early November of 2016. That means that it took production companies Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television over a year to make the second season available.

Knowing this, it's safe to say that the third season of the drama will not be returning until December 2018 at the earliest. The good thing is that there are now two full seasons of the show that fans can watch and rewatch while waiting for the next season.

When the show does return, fans may need to reacquaint themselves with the characters as they will find a brand-new cast on the show's third season.

The reason for this is because the plot of the upcoming season will be jumping a considerable number of years. This necessitates a new set of actors to portray older versions of the historical figures.

The recasting has always been part of the plan for the series. Lead actress Claire Foy, who plays Queen Elizabeth II, has known about it for a while.

"After two seasons, that's it. I'm gone. They're getting rid of all of us," Foy revealed in an interview with Vulture in December 2016. "I don't how they're planning on doing it, but they're such an incredible bunch of directors and producers that it's gonna be different and exciting. It'll be original. I can't wait to see where it goes. I'm so honored to have been involved at this stage. I couldn't be happier really."

Foy will be replaced by actress Olivia Colman as the protagonist of the series. Other cast members for the third season have yet to be announced.