--- title: "The Great" year: 2020 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/the-great" fi1m_score: 74 critics_score: 72 critics_reviews: 13 published: "2026-09-17T03:43:44.207255+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T03:43:44.719925+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Great (2020) Created by Tony McNamara · MPA TV-MA · Drama, Comedy **Fi1m score: 74** · Critics 72 from 13 reviews *In a sentence:* The Enlightenment arrives in Russia and is immediately handed a bear > Tony McNamara’s court comedy gives Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult the filthiest, funniest lines on television and a coup to plot between them. It is a pleasure an hour at a time and a slog at ten; ration it. ## Synopsis Russia, the eighteenth century, more or less. Catherine (Elle Fanning), a young German princess who has read the philosophers and believes in love, arrives at court to marry the emperor Peter III (Nicholas Hoult). She brings him a sprig of fir as a token of their union; he gives her a bear. Peter has never read a book, is sleeping with the wife (Charity Wakefield) of his best friend Grigor (Gwilym Lee), and is losing a war with Sweden. Catherine wants schools, science and the Enlightenment for Russia; the court wants an heir. With Marial (Phoebe Fox), a noblewoman demoted to servant, and Orlo (Sacha Dhawan), a bookish adviser who has never held a weapon, she begins, quietly, to plan a coup. ## Review Tony McNamara co-wrote [*The Favourite*](https://film.one/film/the-favourite) (2018), a film about a court in which everybody was clever and nobody was kind, and *The Great* is what happens when he is given thirty hours instead of two. It calls itself, in its own tagline, “an occasionally true story”, which is generous. Catherine arrives in Russia with a head full of philosophers and a heart set on love; Peter greets her with a bear and a war he is losing. The show is a comedy of manners with a coup in it, and it is at its best when it remembers the coup is the point. We liked it a good deal, an hour at a time. Ten hours at a time is another matter. Fanning plays Catherine as an idealist who is right about everything and cannot yet get anything done, and she has a gift for saying the word “Russia” as if it were a project she has been assigned. Hoult is the discovery. His Peter is a spoilt child of enormous charm who has people killed between courses, and Hoult never winks at us; he plays the cruelty and the neediness as one trait, and he says “Huzzah” like a man who has never had a thought contradicted. The two of them across a dinner table are the show. Kave Quinn and Francesca Di Mottola build a palace of long gilt corridors and rooms with too much furniture in them, and John Brawley, Maja Zamojda and Anette Haellmigk light it with candles and grey window light, so the gold looks slightly dirty, which is right. Sharon Long, Holly Waddington and Emma Fryer put Catherine in pale silks that stay clean for less of each episode as the series goes on, and Peter in embroidered coats worn open, like a man dressed for a party in somebody else’s clothes. Nathan Barr’s score takes harpsichord and strings and puts a drum kit under them, which tells you the game within ten seconds. The supporting cast is uniformly good. Phoebe Fox’s Marial, reduced from noblewoman to emptying chamber pots, is the sharpest tongue in the palace and the only honest one. Sacha Dhawan’s Orlo wants a revolution provided nobody is hurt. Gwilym Lee’s Grigor watches the emperor take his wife to bed and smiles, because the alternative is a grave. Adam Godley’s Archbishop is a politician in a cassock, Douglas Hodge’s General Velementov is drunk for the war and sober for the crisis, and Belinda Bromilow’s Aunt Elizabeth drifts through the corridors with her butterflies and turns out to understand the place better than anyone. Here is where it strains. McNamara’s writers, among them James Wood, Gretel Vella, Tess Morris and Ava Pickett, have one great trick, the modern sentence in the old room, and by the sixth episode of any season the trick is doing the work the plot should. The coup advances an inch and retreats an inch. Catherine and Peter fall out, then in, then out. We laughed, loudly, at the scene in the first episode where she presents him with her twig and he looks at it in honest confusion. A little later somebody was shot for sport and the show asked us to laugh at that too, and we did not, and it did not seem to notice. The violence is filmed as a punchline and lands as one perhaps half the time. The other half we felt slightly grubby, and we do not think that was the intention. *The Favourite* ran two hours and knew that cruelty is funniest when it costs something. *The Great* runs three seasons of ten episodes each and stretches to fit, so the middle of every season has the feel of a good party that has gone on past the point when anyone remembers whose house it is. Even this cast cannot make the sixth argument about the same coup feel different from the fifth. The editors, Billy Sneddon, Edel McDonnell, Nicolas Gaster and Anthony Boys among them, keep individual scenes brisk; it is the episodes that sag. Watch it two episodes at a time, with a drink, and stop for the night when Peter has said Huzzah more often than you have laughed. It carries an 18, which it earns in the first ten minutes and keeps earning, and it arrived in Britain on 15 May 2020. *Fi1m score 74, published 17 September 2026.* ### Reviews we read (13) - **The i Paper**, Emily Baker (90/100, inferred): The series is a rollicking, filthy, modernised period romp that revels in anachronisms, swearing and sex while delivering escapism. The standout element is the excellent acting, particularly Elle Fanning's outstanding portrayal of Catherine and Nicholas Hoult's fun turn as Peter. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/the-great-review-channel-4-catherine-the-great-elle-fanning-nicholas-hoult-448412) - **The AV Club**, Danette Chavez (B+): The caustically funny, ahistorical romp succeeds through strong performances from Fanning and Hoult and its blend of wit, intrigue, and anachronisms. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/hulus-the-great-is-a-gorgeously-delirious-mashup-of-his-1843480367) - **The Guardian**, Lucy Mangan (80/100, inferred): The critic calls it an imperious romp that prefers comedy and satire over historical accuracy, praising the pitch-perfect cast and script while noting it is slightly overlong with some gratuitous violence. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/18/the-great-review-this-imperious-catherine-romp-reaches-for-the-tsars-elle-fanning) - **Vulture** (80/100, inferred): The series is very good, managing a rich dissonance between empathy for its leads and recognition of their cruelty, though it is too long. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2020/05/the-great-hulu-review.html) - **Variety**, Caroline Framke (Critic's Pick): The show straddles period drama and slapstick comedy with ease, delivering scathingly funny insults and an irreverent tone. Elle Fanning is remarkable as Catherine evolves into a leader, with strong support from Nicholas Hoult as the impulsive Peter. [Read](https://variety.com/2020/tv/reviews/the-great-hulu-review-elle-fanning-nicholas-hoult-1234597915/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Inkoo Kang (60/100, inferred): It's an arch, hyper-verbose girl-power dramedy with deliberate anachronisms that recalls The Favourite but never quite coheres despite strong performances. Stellar work from Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult stands out in this tart but uneven confection. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/great-review-1292560/) - **IndieWire**, Kristen Lopez (30/100, inferred): The series feels like a lesser imitation of The Favourite, with Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult carrying much of the weight despite the derivative tone. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/the-great-review-1202223794/) - **Paste**, Allison Keene (9.8/10): The critic calls it a wonderfully bombastic and thrilling ride with crisp writing, sumptuous production, and acid humor that balances horror and hope in Catherine's journey. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/the-great/the-great-review) - **Collider**, Liz Shannon Miller (A-): The critic praises the series as beautifully made and complex with standout performances from Fanning and Hoult, highlighting its unflinching tone and surprising depth despite some lighter moments. [Read](https://collider.com/the-great-review-hulu-elle-fanning-nicholas-hoult/) - **Den of Geek**, Delia Harrington (4/5): Elle Fanning anchors a deceptively biting romp that is frothy fun with a deadly dark side, tracking Catherine's transformation with style and sass. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-great-review/) - **The Ringer**, Alison Herman (75/100, inferred): The series is a capable, entertaining anachronistic comedy in the vein of The Favourite, buoyed by strong lead performances. It occasionally struggles to sustain its tone and pacing across a full season. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2020/05/15/tv/the-great-hulu-review-elle-fanning-nicholas-hoult-favourite) - **/Film**, Hoai-Tran Bui (***): The critic finds the series an enjoyable historical comedy with sharp satire and strong performances, but notes it lacks the bite of The Favourite and struggles with tonal balance and pacing in the middle episodes. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/573896/the-great-review/) - **Consequence** (40/100, inferred): The critic notes the series delivers lacerating humor and strong performances but suffers from an identity crisis, recycled elements from The Favourite, and inconsistent tone that prevents it from fully succeeding. [Read](https://consequence.net/2020/05/tv-review-the-great/) ## Details - **Created by:** Tony McNamara - **Creator:** Tony McNamara - **Director:** Colin Bucksey, Matthew Moore, Geeta Patel, Ally Pankiw, Ben Chessell, Sheree Folkson, Zetna Fuentes, Bertie, Bert, Matt Shakman - **Writer:** Tony McNamara, Ava Pickett, Gretel Vella, James Wood, Tess Morris - **Story:** Amelia Roper - **Cinematography:** John Brawley, Maja Zamojda, Anette Haellmigk - **Editor:** Anthony Boys, Billy Sneddon, Edel McDonnell, Nicolas Gaster - **Music:** Nathan Barr - **Production design:** Francesca Di Mottola, Kave Quinn - **Costume design:** Sharon Long, Emma Fryer, Holly Waddington - **Producer:** Dean O'Toole, Nick O'Hagan - **Cast:** Elle Fanning as Catherine II of Russia; Nicholas Hoult as Peter III of Russia; Phoebe Fox as Marial; Gwilym Lee as Grigor Dymov; Adam Godley as Archbishop; Douglas Hodge as General Velementov; Belinda Bromilow as Elizabeth Petrovna; Bayo Gbadamosi as Arkady - **Certificate (MPA):** TV-MA - **Release (the US):** 15 May 2020 - **Genres:** Drama, Comedy - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU5qkuZijA4 ## Where to watch in the US - Hulu: streaming, uhd - Disney+: add-on, uhd - Apple TV: buy, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $18.99, sd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BG, CA, CH, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HU, IE, IT, LT, NL, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Favourite* (2018), Fi1m 87: McNamara’s court cruelty at two hours, with Olivia Colman doing the real damage — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-favourite.md) - *Dangerous Liaisons* (1988), Fi1m 84: Glenn Close and John Malkovich plotting in silk; the model for every wicked court since — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/dangerous-liaisons.md) - *Blackadder* (1983): British history told by someone who despises everyone in it, in half-hour doses - *Marie Antoinette* (2006): Sofia Coppola’s teenage queen, all cake and post-punk, and just as lonely - *The Death of Stalin* (2017): Russian power as farce, with the bodies kept in frame the whole time --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/the-great