If we need anything from television in this climate, it's more royal dramas in the style of The Favourite. Enter The Great, Hulu's upcoming satire starring Elle Fanning as Catherine the Great. It's got everything: rabbits, wild dance parties, people throwing tomatoes at men in powdered wigs, a coup d'etat (probably), and Nicholas Hoult (definitely). On Monday, Hulu released the first teaser trailer for the series, which debuts May 15.
"Ever since I was a child I've felt like greatness was in store for me. Like God himself had spat me forth on this earth for a reason," Catherine says in the teaser.
"Why did he make you a woman, then?" asks her companion.
"For comedy, I guess."
The series, which is described as "incorporating historical facts occasionally," is a satirical, comedic drama about the rise of Catherine the Great from outsider to the longest reigning female ruler in Russia's history. The first season follows the idealistic young Catherine's arranged marriage to the mercurial Emperor Peter (Hoult). In order to leave her mark on history, the official description teases, "all she has to do is kill her husband, beat the church, baffle the military, and get the court onside."
The Great comes by its The Favourite comparisons honestly; it's created, written, and executive produced by Tony McNamara, who co-wrote the 2018 black comedy that won Olivia Colman her Best Actress Oscar.
