People who dress in the gaudiest outfits of the day don’t get to automatically call themselves gentlemen or gentlewomen. The same can be said for those who employ a highly-evolved vocabulary to speak crudely about others. Look no further than “The Favourite.” The film also made adults behaving like their 10-year-old selves fashionable once again. Well, almost fashionable. Now, one of the screenwriters behind the barbs and backstabbing of Queen Anne’s consorts in that movie keeps those elements constant but swaps courts for a new project. Hulu’s “The Great” tracks the ascension of Catherine II, Russia’s most influential empress.
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Tony McNamara is the Oscar-nominated screenwriter behind “The Favourite”—shared with Deborah Davis—previously alluded to, and the man serving the same function on the series. Like “The Favourite,” the show takes liberties with the history but does reference a few actual events. McNamara also shares executive producer credit with main project star Elle Fanning and others. Additionally, Matt Shakman—director of at least one episode—was behind the camera to document under-handed dealings in two episodes of “Game of Thrones.”
Fanning portrayed royal-in-waiting Aurora in “Maleficent” and “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” the embodiment of innocence. It will be interesting to see what the actress brings to her portrayal of the multi-layered Catherine the Great. Expanding upon a previous connection, Nicholas Hoult—Robert Harley in “The Favourite”—co-stars as Peter III, Catherine’s husband and tsar for a brief time. Other members of the cast include Phoebe Fox (“The Aeronauts”), Gwilym Lee (“Bohemian Rhapsody”), Adam Godley (“The Umbrella Academy”), and Charity Wakefield (“Bounty Hunters”).
Here’s the synopsis:
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. Season One is a fictionalized, fun and anachronistic story of an idealistic, romantic young girl, who arrives in Russia for an arranged marriage to the mercurial Emperor Peter. Hoping for love and sunshine, she finds instead a dangerous, depraved, backward world that she resolves to change. All she has to do is kill her husband, beat the church, baffle the military and get the court onside. A very modern story about the past which encompasses the many roles she played over her lifetime as lover, teacher, ruler, friend, and fighter.
“The Great” is set to premiere on Hulu on May 15. See a ruler that lived up to her name and more by checking out the trailer below.
