Gillian Anderson is playing Margaret Thatcher in The Crown season 3

Gillian Anderson is routinely the best part of whatever she’s in. She was the best part of the first season of American Gods, where she played the god Media, turning in spot-on impressions of everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Lucille Ball to David Bowie. Looking back, she was the best part of The X-Files, the warm, rational center of Chris Carter’s sprawling tale of alien conspiracy. Now, she stands a good chance of being the best part of the fourth season of Netflix’s The Crown, where she’ll be playing controversial British prime minister Margaret Thatcher:

The Crown, if you’re not hip to the hot historical drama of the day, chronicles the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II, starting with her ascension to the throne after World War II and stopping…well, it’s hard to know where the show will end, because the Queen is still alive and ruling, but obviously we’re going to reach the ’80s, when Thatcher was in power. Her Thatcher’s decade in office was marked by the slashing of Britain’s social services, a war in the Falkland Islands, an assassination attempt, and a lot more; it’s a juicy period, and I’m looking forward to see Anderson sink her teeth into a meaty, complicated role.

Some of The Crown’s best scenes have involved the Queen facing off with England’s prime ministers, with the show winning acclaim in particular for John Lithgow’s performance as Winston Churchill in season 1.

Also, is it funny to anyone that Churchill and Thatcher, both icons of British history, are played by Americans? (Yes, Anderson technically spent some of her childhood in London but she was born in Chicago so I’m counting her.) At this point it’s a cliche that British actors often play American figures (e.g. David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln), but apparently it works both ways.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing Anderson smash this role whenever The Crown season 4 rolls out. Season 3, which will see Olivia Colman step in for Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II, drops on November 17.

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