''The Great'' (titled onscreen as ''The Great: An Occasionally True Story'' and later as ''The Great: An Almost Entirely Untrue Story'') is a historical and satirical

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

television series described by its commissioner Hulu as "anti-historical" loosely based on the rise to power of Catherine the Great, Empress of All Russia. All ten episodes of the first season were released on Hulu on May 15, 2020. The series stars

Elle Fanning Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. She made her film debut as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film '' I Am Sam'' (2001). As a child actress, she appeared in several films, i ...

as Empress Catherine II and

Nicholas Hoult Nicholas Caradoc Hoult (born 7 December 1989) is an English actor. His body of work includes supporting work in big-budget mainstream productions and starring roles in independent projects in both the American and the British film industries ...

as Emperor Peter III. In July 2020, Hulu renewed the series for a second season which premiered on November 19, 2021. In January 2022, the series was renewed for a third season.

Premise

''The Great'' is a historical and satirical

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 to

Emperor Peter III An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

of Russia, focusing on the plot to kill her depraved and dangerous husband.

Cast and characters

Main

as Catherine the Great *

as Peter III of Russia **Hoult also plays

Yemelyan Pugachev Yemelyan Ivanovich Pugachev (russian: Емельян Иванович Пугачёв; c. 1742) was an ataman of the Yaik Cossacks who led a great popular insurrection during the reign of Catherine the Great. Pugachev claimed to be Catherine's ...

(season 2–present) * Phoebe Fox as Marial *

Sacha Dhawan Sacha Dhawan (; born 1 May 1984) is a British actor from Greater Manchester. He is best known for playing Akthar in the play '' The History Boys'' (2004–2006) and its film adaptation (2006), Paul Jatri in the BBC One comedy drama series '' Las ...

as Orlo * Charity Wakefield as Georgina Dymova *

Gwilym Lee Gwilym Lee (born 24 November 1983) is a Welsh actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Jamestown'', ''Midsomer Murders'', ''Top End Wedding'', ''The Great'', and for playing guitarist Brian May in the Queen biopic ''Bohemian Rhapsody''. Ear ...

as Grigor Dymov *

Adam Godley Adam Godley (born 22 July 1964) is a British-American actor. He has been nominated for two Tony Awards and four Laurence Olivier Awards for his performances on the New York and London stages which include, ''Private Lives'' in 2001, ''The Pillo ...

as Archbishop "Archie" *

Douglas Hodge Douglas Hodge is an English actor, director, and musician who has had an extensive career in theatre, as well as television and film where he has appeared in '' Robin Hood'' (2010), '' Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return'' and '' Diana'' (2013), '' ...

as General Velementov *

Belinda Bromilow Belinda Bromilow (born 21 May 1975) is an Australian actress. She is known for her roles in the Nine Network series, '' Doctor Doctor'' (2016–2021), and the Hulu series, ''The Great'' (2020–present)''.'' Education Bromilow studied acting ...

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

*Bayo Gbadamosi as Arkady *

Sebastian de Souza Sebastian Denis de Souza (born 19 April 1993)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England and Wales, 1916–2005'' B100D is an English actor. He is best known for playing Matty Levan in the E4 teen drama series '' Skins''. He has since starre ...

as Leo Voronsky (season 1) *Florence Keith-Roach as Tatyana (season 2–present; recurring season 1) *Danusia Samal as Lady Antonia Svenska (season 2; recurring season 1)

Recurring

* Louis Hynes as Vlad (season 1) *

Jamie Demetriou Jamie Demetriou (born November 1987) is an English comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Bus Rodent in ''Fleabag'' and for creating, co-writing, and starring in ''Stath Lets Flats''. For the latter, he won Best Male A ...

as Doctor Chekov (season 1) * Christophe Tek as Tartar Nick (season 1) * Charlie Price as

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

(season 1) * Alistair Green as Count Smolny (season 1–2) * Abraham Popoola as Alexei Rostov (season 1) * Stewart Scudamore as Tolsten (season 1) *

Christianne Oliveira Christianne Oliveira (previously Christianne Gadd) (born 1971) is a Brazilian actress, known for playing Donna Doyle on '' Night and Day'' from 2001 to 2003. Career Oliveira also appeared in the movie '' Chocolat'' with Johnny Depp in 2000, playi ...

as Countess Belanova * Blake Harrison as Colonel Svenska (seasons 1–2) *

Dustin Demri-Burns Dustin Demri-Burns (born 11 July 1978) is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his work in ''Cardinal Burns''. He appeared in films as the roles of Danny Sinclair in the 2013 film '' Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa'' (2013), Vik ...

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

(season 2; guest season 1) * Freddie Fox as King Hugo of Sweden (season 2; guest season 1) * Grace Molony as Queen Agnes of Sweden (season 2; guest season 1) *

Julian Barratt Julian Barratt Pettifer (born 4 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor and musician. As a comedian and comic actor, he is known for his use of surreal humour and black comedy. During the 2000s he was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe along ...

as Dr. Vinodel (season 2) * Jane Mahady as Katya Velcra (season 2) *

Anthony Welsh Anthony Michael Welsh (born 5 July 1983) is an English actor. He made his film debut in '' Red Tails'' (2012). On television, he is known for his role as Lucky Gordon in ''The Trial of Christine Keeler'' (2019–2020). Early life and education ...

as Father Basil (season 2) * Ali Ariaie as Raskolvy (season 2) *

Ramon Tikaram Ramon Tikaram is a British stage and screen actor of Indo-Fijian and Southeast Asian descent. He is known for playing such roles as Ferdy in the BBC television series '' This Life'' and Qadim Shah in the BBC One soap opera '' EastEnders''. Ea ...

as Uncle Varnya (season 2) *

Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film '' The House of Mirt ...

as Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp (season 2) *

Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor. Isaac's film roles include Col. Tavington in '' The Patriot'' (2000), Michael D. Steele in '' Black Hawk Down'' (2001), Lucius Malfoy in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2002–2011), Ca ...

as Peter the Great (season 2) * Henry Meredith as Maxim (season 2)

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2020)

Season 2 (2021)

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

and Marian Macgowan. Production companies involved with the pilot consist of

Media Rights Capital MRC II Distribution Company L.P., doing business as MRC (formerly Media Rights Capital), is an American film and television studio. Founded by Mordecai (Modi) Wiczyk and Asif Satchu, the company funds and produces film and television programming. ...

, Echo Lake Entertainment, and Thruline Entertainment. On November 20, 2018, it was reported that

Matt Shakman Matt Shakman is an American film, television, and theatre director, and former child actor. He produced and directed '' WandaVision'' and has directed episodes of ''The Great'', ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', '' Fargo'' and ''Game of Thr ...

was directing the pilot. On February 11, 2019, it was announced during the

Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canada, Canadian television television criticism, critics, journalists and columnists who cover television television programme, programming for newspapers, ...

's annual winter press tour that Hulu had given the production a series order. On July 2, 2020, Hulu renewed the series for a second season. On January 11, 2022, Hulu renewed the series for a 10-episode third season.

Casting

Alongside the initial pilot announcement, it was confirmed that

and

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,

, Charity Wakefield, and

had joined the cast of the pilot. In January 2020,

Sebastian De Souza Sebastian Denis de Souza (born 19 April 1993)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England and Wales, 1916–2005'' B100D is an English actor. He is best known for playing Matty Levan in the E4 teen drama series '' Skins''. He has since starre ...

, and

were added to the cast. On May 14, 2021,

was cast in a guest starring role as

Johanna Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek /h/ cou ...

, Catherine's mother.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

for the pilot episode had commenced by November 2018 in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, England with other filming locations expected to include Leicestershire,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

and Hever in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. The main filming locations were

Hatfield House Hatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house, a leading example of the prodigy house, was built in 1611 by Robert Cec ...

in Hertfordshire,

Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 an ...

in Leicestershire and the

Royal Palace of Caserta The Royal Palace of Caserta ( it, Reggia di Caserta ) is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples. It is the largest palace erected in Europ ...

in southern Italy. The

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

on the lake at

Hever Castle Hever Castle ( ) is located in the village of Hever, Kent, near Edenbridge, south-east of London, England. It began as a country house, built in the 13th century. From 1462 to 1539, it was the seat of the Boleyn (originally 'Bullen') family. ...

doubled as the location for a Russo-Swedish peace conference. The fields of the St Clere Estate near

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...

were used to stage battle scenes in episodes five and seven. Filming for season two began on November 4, 2020 and ended on July 17, 2021; another location used was Hampton Court Palace.

Release

Season 1

The series premiered in the United States on May 15, 2020.
In Australia, all episodes were released on Stan on May 16.
The series airs on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

and

StarzPlay Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consis ...

in the UK. It was released on StarzPlay 18 June 2020 and on Channel 4 on 3 January 2021.
StarzPlay also distribute the series in Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Latin America and Brazil. More.tv broadcasts the show in Russia,

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

in New Zealand, and Amazon Prime Video in Canada.

Season 2

The second season premiered on 19 November 2021 in the US, and on the same day in Canada, for Amazon

Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

. In the UK

Starzplay Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consis ...

premiered the second season on 5 December 2021 and on Channel 4 on 27 July 2022.

Historical accuracy

Hulu has described ''The Great'' as "anti-historical," and each episode's title sequence subtitled the series as an "occasionally true story" until the second season finale, when it changed to "an almost entirely untrue story." According to ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' critic Robert Lloyd, "McNamara had jotted down some names, relationships and a few historical bullet points, torn up the paper, and started writing. And so must the viewer abandon himself to what's on the plate without a care to learning anything useful or even true about Russia or any of the real people represented here."

Reception

Critical response

Season 1

The first season received mostly positive reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, it holds an approval rating of 88% based on 83 critic reviews, with an average critic rating of 7.51/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''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 Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 33 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Season 2

The second season received critical acclaim. On Metacritic, the second season has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 based on 7 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a "Certified Fresh" 100% approval rating based on 24 reviews, with an average critic rating of 8.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''The Great'' continues its revisionist reign stronger than before thanks to its addictive wit and marvelous cast − huzzah!"

Awards and nominations

Season 1

Season 2

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Great (TV Series) 2020s American comedy-drama television series 2020 American television series debuts American biographical series Depictions of Catherine the Great on television English-language television shows Hulu original programming Television series by Media Rights Capital Television shows filmed in Italy Television shows filmed in the United Kingdom Television series set in the 18th century Television series about royalty Cultural depictions of Peter III of Russia Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series

Premise

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2020)

Season 2 (2021)

Production

Development

Casting

Filming

Release

Season 1

Season 2

Historical accuracy

Reception

Critical response

Season 1

Season 2

Awards and nominations

Season 1

Season 2

See also

References

External links