Hulu has officially renewed the historical comedy series The Great for season 3. Starring Elle Fanning as Catherine The Great and Nicolas Hoult as Peter III, The Great is a loose comedic recreation of the historical events that led to Catherine becoming Empress Regnant of Russia. The Great season 2 debuted in November on Hulu with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
The Great was created by Tony McNamara, who also wrote the Oscar-winning film The Favourite, as well as Disney’s Cruella (and the upcoming sequel). Fanning has starred in a number of high-profile projects throughout her career, starting at a very young age, including JJ Abrams’ Super 8, Disney’s Maleficent (and the sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil), and Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon. Hoult has had a similar career, appearing in a number of projects since childhood, but most notably played Beast in Fox’s X-Men series, as well as Nux in Mad Max: Fury Road. He’ll next appear in Chris McKay’s Dracula spinoff Renfield with Nicolas Cage.
The Great season 2 saw Catherine finally ascend to the throne after a successful coup of her husband, leaving the story wide open to track her transition of power and rule of Russia. Fortunately, fans will be able to see those events transpire, as Hulu has renewed the series for a 10-episode third season. The Great season 2 was one of Hulu’s top-performing female-driven comedies of 2021, which helped make a third season possible.
Along with Fanning and Hoult, The Great has a long roster of supporting stars, including Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Bayo Gbadamosi, and Belinda Bromilow. The Great season 2 added some new faces as well, including Gillian Anderson as Catherine The Great’s mother and Jason Isaacs as Peter’s father. Recently, Anderson said she would like to return for The Great season 3, but no casting announcements have been made as of yet.
The Great truly lives up to its namesake and serves as one of the most bitingly funny shows currently streaming. Fanning and Hoult are both amazing, working with the most sophisticated material of their careers thus far, hitting the right balance between comedy and drama with The Great. Their co-stars fare just as well with the material, which manages to be both satirical and emotional in all the right places, making The Great one of the best (and most underrated) shows currently playing. With plenty of “history” to contend with, Catherine The Great’s journey in The Great could potentially continue for many more seasons to come. If the show can keep the momentum they’ve already built, then that’s a truly great thing.
