The reign of Catherine the Great will continue, as the original series The Great starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult has been renewed for a 10-episode third season.
The Great was created by Tony McNamara (based on his play) and tells the story of Catherine the Great and her ascension to the Russian throne over her husband Peter in the 18th century. A historical comedy, the show famously has taken some liberties in the fact department, though that is not something it hides. It clearly notes in its opening credits that the show is an “occasionally true story.”
The news of the renewal comes after The Great season 2 premiered in November 2021. This season began in the immediacy of Catherine’s coup against Peter and follows her as she tries to assert herself as a leader for Russia all while preparing for the birth of her child. All 10 episodes of season 2 are available to stream on Hulu or on Channel 4’s 4OD in the UK).
Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult star in The Great as Catherine and Peter, respectively. They are joined in the cast by Phoebe Fox as Marial, Sacha Dhawan as Orlo, Belinda Bromilow as Aunt Elizabeth, Gwilym Lee as Grigor, Douglas Hodge as Velementov, Charity Wakefield as Georgina, Adam Godley as Archbishop, Bayo Gbadamosi as Arkady, Florence Keith-Roach as Tatyana and, as a guest star for season 2, Gillian Anderson as Catherine’s mother.
There was no word on how long fans of The Great may have to wait for season 3. There was about an 18-month gap between when The Great season 1 premiered in May 2020 and season 2 in November 2021. Should that same time frame be applied, perhaps we could be seeing The Great season 3 around in the first half of 2023.
To watch The Great on Hulu, you must be a subscriber to either the Hulu or Hulu with Live TV platform. The former provides all Hulu original and library content and is available starting at $6.99 per month, while with the latter you get a range of live TV channels and access to the Disney Plus and ESPN Plus streaming platforms, at a starting price of $69.99 per month. In the UK, Channel 4 is a free-to-air broadcaster, but you will need a TV license to watch.
