The Great (2020 TV series)


The Great is an American comedy-drama television series loosely based on the rise of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. All 10 episodes of the first season were released on Hulu on May 15, 2020. The series stars Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult as the Empress and Emperor of Russia, respectively.
In July 2020, Hulu renewed the series for a second season.

Premise

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. The series is fictionalized and portrays Catherine in her youth and marriage with Emperor Peter III focusing on the plot to kill her depraved and dangerous husband.

Cast and characters

Main

Production

Development

The series is based upon Tony McNamara's play revolving around Catherine the Great, which premiered at the Sydney Theatre Company in 2008. McNamara also wrote a film adaption of the play, "It had been a play and a film, and I was always struggling with the fact it was such a massive story for a film. I wanted to tell it as a story that goes for years and years." The series was initially pitched as having six seasons, having planned to introduce key historical figures in Catherine's life as the series continued.
On August 24, 2018, it was announced that Hulu was close to giving a pilot order to a miniseries about Catherine the Great. The series was written by Tony McNamara who also served as an executive producer alongside Elle Fanning and Marian Macgowan. Production companies involved with the pilot consist of Media Rights Capital, Echo Lake Entertainment, and Thruline Entertainment. On November 20, 2018, it was reported that Matt Shakman was directing the pilot. On February 11, 2019, it was announced during the Television Critics Association's annual winter press tour that Hulu had given the production a series order.

Casting

Alongside the initial pilot announcement, it was confirmed that Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult had been cast in the pilot's lead roles as Catherine the Great and her husband Peter III of Russia, respectively. In November 2018, it was announced that Phoebe Fox, Sacha Dhawan, Charity Wakefield, and Gwilym Lee had joined the cast of the pilot. In January 2020, Sebastian De Souza, Adam Godley, and Douglas Hodge were added to the cast.

Filming

for the pilot episode had commenced by November 2018 in York, England with other filming locations expected to include Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Hever in Kent and Caserta, Italy. The Loggia on the lake at doubles as an unnamed Eastern European house. The fields of in Kent were used to stage battle scenes in Episodes 5 and 7.

Release

The series premiered in the United States on May 15, 2020. In Australia, all episodes were released on Stan on May 16. The series will air on Channel 4 and StarzPlay in the UK. StarzPlay also distribute the series in Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Latin America and Brazil. More.tv broadcasts the show in Russia, Sky in New Zealand, and Prime Video in Canada.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 88% based on 76 critic reviews, with an average critic rating of 7.46/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Gorgeous, if gratuitous, The Great can't quite live up to its namesake, but delicious performances from Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult and a wicked sense of humor make it a pretty good watch." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Awards and nominations