THE GREAT

The Great is hilarious comedy produced by Hulu and available in Poland on HBO. It's a series created by Tony McNamara (The Favorite) with magnetizing cast, especially Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult and Phoebe Fox.  

It's one of the rare cases in which the series is as good as trailers. The Great shows exactly what those trailers with which Hulu has promoted the series, promised us. Throughout ten episodes that last around an hour, Tony McNamara presents the life of Catherine the Great, who goes from a romantic and idealistic young girl to a very pragmatic woman, willing to seize power at all costs.

Source: zpopk.pl

The Great introduces us a very different Catherine the Great from the one portrayed by Helen Mirren. We can notice her dreamy side, before marrying the heir to the Russian throne, Peter III. She imagines her marriage like a fairy tale but unfortunately, she finds a hedonistic court, besieged by gossip, casual sex and hunts seasoned with huge amounts of alcohol. Catherine, as an educated and cultured woman accustomed to reading, cannot understand her husband's lack of vision to Europeanize Russia. That’s why she begins to plan to seize power with help of her maid. 

Source: variety.com

The intention of the series isn't being faithful to real history. It's announced from the very beginning by adding a short subtitle in which we can read that it's “an occasionally true story”. This funny declaration does not disappoint. The Great really knows how to show hypocrisy and present a duel between the two protagonists: Elle Fanning (Maleficent) and Nicholas Hoult (Tolkien). Both are completely immersed in their roles giving the best of themselves. I also have to highlight the script of The Great because it is original and very surprising, but the greatest strengths of the series are production design and photography. 18th century setting and wardrobe, makeup, wigs... everything is amazing and gives realistic touch to a crazy plot full of palace intrigues, murder plots, love triangles, betrayals, vodka, violence, sadistic customs and lots of cheers to the sound of glassware that shatters when it falls to the ground. 

Beyond the laughs, The Great mixes the extravagance of some situations with the reflections on progress, leadership and the role of women in society, from the point of view of somone who was born to be great.