‘The Great’ deserves a royal embrace at the Emmys

Abe Friedtanzer
·5 min read
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It certainly isn’t true to how history really happened, but “The Great” is one of the most inventive, entertaining series out there right now. Billed by Hulu alternately as “an occasionally true story” and “an almost entirely untrue story,” it takes the real-life relationship between Catherine the Great and Peter III and twists it into something that makes for maddeningly watchable comedy and drama. Season 3 begins with a new reality for Catherine and Peter as they examine how their marriage can work with the empress in power and Russia’s former leader by her side, and things only get wilder and more chaotic from there.

“The Great” has not received the warmest reception from Emmy voters, with six nominations total and just one win over the course of its first two seasons. The pilot episode was cited for directing and writing, and Season 1 merited a production design mention. Lead actors Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult made the cut for Season 2, which also scored a period costumes win. But the show has never managed to crack the Best Comedy Series category, where it sits way down in 14th place in our Emmy odds for this year. Fanning is in sixth place for Best Comedy Actress, which will have only five nominees, while Hoult is in ninth for Best Comedy Actor. Critics continue to emphatically celebrate the show in its third season.

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SEE Elle Fanning (‘The Great’): ‘I’m a little more daring as an actor’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Fanning and Hoult’s stellar performances are only a part of what makes this show so Emmy-friendly. As Catherine tries to ensure that she has a firm hold on power, she enlists the help of two longtime allies of the crown, Archie the Archbishop (Adam Godley) and Peter’s Aunt Elizabeth (Belinda Bromilow). Carly Lane (Collider) notes that Fanning is “somehow giving us more of herself than she ever has in the role before” and emphasizes the show’s “staggeringly good performances, constantly evolving relationships, and characters who end up in wildly surprising places.”

Nick Schager (The Daily Beast) describes it as “yesteryear reimagined as a theater of the absurd, and all the more winning for the way in which its ridiculousness is rooted in enduring personal, social, and political dynamics” and adds that it “hurtles along at a confidently zany pace, its attitude as finely honed as is its perspective on these alternately reprehensible and admirable individuals.”Both performers have done superb work throughout the show’s run but have a particular opportunity to shine in Season 3 as they seek to manipulate the country’s leader to their advantage, with preservation of the Church and the family legacy, respectively, key to their aims. They’re also both richly funny, embracing the hilarious contradictions of their characters to wondrous effect.

SEE ‘The Great’ director Jaffar Mahmood on the shocking twist in ‘Ice’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Season 3 also sees two women go to war over the same man, one who is honestly much more concerned with preserving his relationship with Peter. Marial (Phoebe Fox) and Georgina (Charity Wakefield) are both intent on having Grigor (Gwilym Lee) put them first while all he wants to do is make sure his best friend isn’t hurting too much. Fox and Wakefield bring such energy to the feud that they have, reserving harsh words for each other while whispering in the ear of their empress about how she should look to each of them as her most trusted advisor. It’s a delight to watch, and Lee does some of his finest comedic and dramatic work as he grapples with an unexpected loss, the likes of which he has never before encountered.

Belen Edwards (Mashable) asserts that “Tony McNamara’s acid-tongued series ‘The Great’ has certainly earned its name over the course of its past two seasons, boasting witty repartee, dazzling court intrigue, and a brilliant pair of central performances from Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult. Yet in Season 3, it somehow manages to kick all these elements up a notch,” explaining that it offers “more opportunities for supporting characters to shine, and more chances for Fanning and Hoult to deliver their best work yet.”

SEE Jenny Rhodes-McLean (‘The Great’ makeup and hair): Not getting ‘too bogged down being period correct’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

“The Great” has also submitted two top-tier hours for directing, “Ice” and “Peter and the Wolf,” with “Choose Your Weapon,” a fun episode that introduces an American character representing the then-fledgling new country, as its sole writing submission. It remains eligible in a number of technical categories, including the two that previously resulted in Emmy mentions. That “The Great” stands an only decent chance of earning a few nominations for its latest fantastic season is a true shame since its entire cast is in top form and this is easily one of the best series, comedy or drama, currently available on television.

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