There’s a very high likelihood that when you watch the trailer for Hulu’s upcoming series, “The Great,” you’re immediately struck by how similar the series feels to the Oscar-winning film, “The Favourite.” And you’d be right on the money, as “The Great” shares some serious DNA with its big-screen cousin.
“The Great” tells the story of a young woman, Catherine, that becomes the wife of the ruler of Russia. While she’s not very experienced in things such as ruling and being a proper lady, she does have higher aspirations than just being a wife and potential mother to little kids. She has her sights set on the throne.
But don’t go thinking this is “Game of Thrones” or something. No, no, no. This is most definitely a comedy, thanks in large part to its creator-writer Tony McNamara. And this is where the connection to “The Favourite” comes in. In fact, McNamara is the Oscar-nominated writer of “The Favourite,” which explains why “The Great” just feels so much like that off-beat Yorgos Lanthimos film.
Speaking to Deadline, McNamara actually said that the script for “The Great” is what landed him the job as the writer on “The Favourite.”
“It, too, was a period piece that was irreverent and had a very comic, ultimately tragic tone,” McNamara said. “It was the same language that we used in ‘The Favourite,’ in that it’s a hybrid of contemporary and period. He liked all that, and he felt like it fitted with his sensibility and what he wanted to turn the original script into; basically to reinvent the genre a little bit.”
The new series stars Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Sebastian de Souza, Bayo Gbadamosi, and Belinda Bromilow.
“The Great” premieres on Hulu on May 15.
Here’s the synopsis:
The Great is a satirical, comedic drama about the rise of Catherine the Great from outsider to the longest-reigning female ruler in Russia’s history.