Hulu is almost ready to take us back to the 18th century via The Great. Tony McNamara’s satirical comedy about Catherine The Great, Russia’s longest-reigning female ruler (played by Elle Fanning), will return in winter 2021. The streaming platform announced during the Television Critics Association’s 2021 summer press tour that The Great season two will premiere in November.
The new season picks up after the events of the season-one finale, “The Beaver’s Nose,” wherein Catherine’s husband Peter III (Nicholas Hoult) discovers her plot of overthrowing him and becoming the sole ruler. He imprisons her lover, Leo (Sebastian de Souza), effectively bringing his wife under his thumb. Now she’ll have to continue to battle him while pregnant, and still attempt to liberate a nation that probably doesn’t want to be free.
The first teaser trailer also offers a glimpse at Gillian Anderson as Catherine’s mother Joanna. Meanwhile, Peter and Catherine argue about bloodshed, with Peter claiming to love it and his empress wanting to end the latest war waged by her adopted homeland. She is convinced she can run Russia without losing any more people. It sure looks like he is still surprisingly charmed by his wife’s murderous rage and tries to tell her to give up on her plans, so they can at least indulge in some sex. But our girl is not giving up, because she’d rather choke on a piece of chicken than be with him.
The comedy also stars Phoebe Fox, Sacha Dhawan, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge, Bayo Gbadamosi, and Belinda Bromilow. Anderson will apparently appear in two episodes as well. Australian playwright McNamara, who co-wrote 2018's The Favourite, was nominated for writing and directing The Great at the 2020 Emmy Awards.
The Great season two will consist of 10 episode and premiere on November 19, 2021.