--- description: Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult star in another droll, raunchy, insightful account of 18th-century court intrigue from the film's co-writer. title: Hulu's 'The Great' Gives Catherine 'The Favourite' Treatment image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9638cb36d3f4ab5/698a0de4457a52b788d63efb/tgr_103_ap_00749rt-3.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Television](/tag/television/) ## Television Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Russia's Inimitable Catherine Gets _The Favourite_ Treatment in Hulu's Delightful _The Great_  by [Judy Berman](/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close TV Critic May 11, 2020 9:35 PM CUT  Elle Fanning in 'The Great' Elle Fanning in 'The Great'Hulu  by [Judy Berman](/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close TV Critic May 11, 2020 9:35 PM CUT In 1744, 15-year-old Sophie von Anhalt-Zerbst—the daughter of a broke Prussian prince—traveled to Russia, wed a man destined to become Emperor Peter III and was rechristened Catherine. Her husband was a boorish alcoholic, the relationship a gauntlet of humiliation. Both spouses took lovers. And mere months into a reign that began in 1762, his brilliant wife forced him to abdicate in a bloodless coup (though he was subsequently assassinated). One of Russia’s most influential rulers, Catherine the Great reigned for over 34 years. It’s kind of a funny story: a penniless teenage girl bides her time in a terrible arranged marriage until she’s positioned to hijack an empire—and actually triumphs. Tony McNamara, who co-wrote Oscar darling [_The Favourite_](https://time.com/5382740/the-favourite-review/ "undefined"), certainly sees the humor in it. As creator of Hulu’s _The Great_, premiering May 15, he offers another droll, raunchy, yet sneakily insightful account of 18th century court intrigue. It isn’t quite the perfectly paced masterpiece that movie was; some episodes drag, including a smallpox romp that’s more tiresome than timely. Still, its witty dialogue and lively performances yield a sharp, fun dramedy. Billed as “an occasionally true story,” _The Great_ condenses history for maximum entertainment value. McNamara’s Peter (Nicholas Hoult) is already Emperor by the time Catherine (executive producer [Elle Fanning](https://time.com/4825090/elle-fanning-on-de-niro-on-kimmel/ "undefined")) comes into his life. Equal parts [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://time.com/5793538/eleanor-roosevelt-100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined"), [Tracy Flick](https://entertainment.time.com/2012/09/05/the-15-best-political-films-of-all-time-the-votes-are-in/slide/election/ "undefined") and [Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette](http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1620695,00.html "undefined"), she arrives with visions of swooning romance, only to endure an abrupt, mechanical consummation as Peter chats with a pal. He already has his favorites, and she isn’t one of them. The snarky, superficial women who make up the palace’s mean-girl contingent don’t like her, either. Though she dreams of creating a more educated, civilized Russia, Catherine’s husband wants only to eat, drink and fornicate himself into a stupor. So she begins plotting a putsch with help from a timid policy wonk (Sacha Dhawan) and a disgraced aristocrat who is now her maid (Phoebe Fox). Hoult—who’s played monsters since his chilling turn as a sadistic high schooler in British teen drama _Skins_ and was wonderfully vile in _The Favourite_—makes an exhilarating villain. Reimagined as the son of Peter the Great (he was really the Emperor’s grandson), this Peter behaves brutishly because he knows, deep down, that he can never equal his father.  Nicholas Hoult in 'The Great' Hulu Some viewers will surely see the character as a riff on America’s current leader, but don’t let those parallels distract you from what’s going on beyond Hoult’s gleeful performance of narcissism. This is Catherine’s story. And it’s among the best of many recent pop-cultural reconsiderations of legendary women from centuries past; last year, HBO cast Helen Mirren as the Empress in the [stiff period drama _Catherine the Great_](https://time.com/5696556/catherine-the-great-history/ "undefined"). From [_The Crown_](https://time.com/5717556/the-crown-season-3-netflix-review/ "undefined") to [_Victoria_](https://time.com/4628353/victoria-tv-show-pbs-masterpiece/ "undefined"), we can’t seem to get enough queen TV. Yet my favorite portrayals of groundbreaking women are, like _The Favourite_, _Marie Antoinette_ and now _The Great_, at least partially humorous (see also: Apple TV+’s messy, thrilling [_Dickinson_](https://time.com/5710943/apple-tv-plus-what-to-watch/ "undefined")). There’s bleak comedy in the perennially relevant stories of women born into power or genius who nonetheless spend their lives battling—if not just enduring—mediocre men who believe them to be fundamentally inferior. At least Catherine’s has a happy ending. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5835131/the-great-hulu-review/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5835131/the-great-hulu-review/"},"headline":"Russia's Inimitable Catherine Gets The Favourite Treatment in Hulu's Delightful The Great","datePublished":"2020-05-11T21:35:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:56:00.919Z","description":"There’s bleak comedy in the perennially relevant stories of women born into power or genius who nonetheless spend their lives battling mediocre men","url":"https://time.com/5835131/the-great-hulu-review/","keywords":["Television","review"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9638cb36d3f4ab5/698a0de4457a52b788d63efb/tgr_103_ap_00749rt-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Judy Berman","jobTitle":"TV Critic","url":"https://time.com/author/judy-berman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9638cb36d3f4ab5/698a0de4457a52b788d63efb/tgr_103_ap_00749rt-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"tgr_103_ap_00749rt-3","caption":"Elle Fanning in 'The Great'","creditText":"Hulu","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5835131/the-great-hulu-review/","name":"Russia's Inimitable Catherine Gets The Favourite Treatment in Hulu's Delightful The Great"}}]}] ```