I really enjoyed this series of "The Great". I think it was probably the cast that initially convinced me to try it, particularly the central pairing of Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult but it's a profoundly funny series and I'm looking forward to the proposed second season.
Catherine (Elle Fanning) a young German woman of noble birth but lacking in means is married to Peter (Nicholas Hoult) - the young and mostly boorish Emperor of Russia. Disappointed and alienated by lack of modern thinking in Russian court, she attempts to inspire change in her husband, before instead deciding to change everything and beginning to orchestrate a coup, with the aim of installing herself as a new progressive leader.
Tonally, the show is very similar to writer/producer Tony McNamara's 2018 film "The Favourite" in that it is the essence of a sort of true event but that the specifics of the story are, in the words of the show itself, "occasionally true". In practice that means that timescales, characters and events are not actually as they were. If you're here for historical accuracy, you've come to the wrong place. But if you're here for a consistently funny comedy drama, with some absurdist moments, some dark moments and the political intrigue that comes from time spend in Russian court, then you are most definitely in the right place.
Away from the central pair, a host of wonderful British character actors appear in roles of varying regularity. Including Sacha Dhawan, Adam Godley, Douglas Hodge, Gwilym Lee, Sebastian De Souze, Phoebe Fox and Charity Wakefield. Everyone, without exception, is note perfect. But the star is the script, witty and course, charming and foul mouthed.
I had assumed that it was going to be a limited series, for some reason and it would work to end at this point, if Covid pushes us in that direction. But as it stands at least one more season is planned and several more have been mapped out, should they be required. And I am looking forward to what we might get.
Catherine (Elle Fanning) a young German woman of noble birth but lacking in means is married to Peter (Nicholas Hoult) - the young and mostly boorish Emperor of Russia. Disappointed and alienated by lack of modern thinking in Russian court, she attempts to inspire change in her husband, before instead deciding to change everything and beginning to orchestrate a coup, with the aim of installing herself as a new progressive leader.
Tonally, the show is very similar to writer/producer Tony McNamara's 2018 film "The Favourite" in that it is the essence of a sort of true event but that the specifics of the story are, in the words of the show itself, "occasionally true". In practice that means that timescales, characters and events are not actually as they were. If you're here for historical accuracy, you've come to the wrong place. But if you're here for a consistently funny comedy drama, with some absurdist moments, some dark moments and the political intrigue that comes from time spend in Russian court, then you are most definitely in the right place.
Away from the central pair, a host of wonderful British character actors appear in roles of varying regularity. Including Sacha Dhawan, Adam Godley, Douglas Hodge, Gwilym Lee, Sebastian De Souze, Phoebe Fox and Charity Wakefield. Everyone, without exception, is note perfect. But the star is the script, witty and course, charming and foul mouthed.
I had assumed that it was going to be a limited series, for some reason and it would work to end at this point, if Covid pushes us in that direction. But as it stands at least one more season is planned and several more have been mapped out, should they be required. And I am looking forward to what we might get.
