EPISODE
SEASON
The Great - Season 1
Among satire conditions, this series follows a young lady, Catherine, from rustic Austria. Catherine winds up in a difficult circumstance when she needs to pick between her own happiness and the fate of Russia when she weds an Emperor.
1989, Shropshire, England, UK
6 June 1963, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK
8 February 1957, Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland
19 June 1990, London, England, UK
11 January 1953, Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland, UK
1987, Hammersmith, London, England, UK
25 February 1960, Plymouth, Devon, England, UK
May 14, 2020
The Great is one of the best shows of the year
May 12, 2020
In order to understand The Great you must only ask yourself one question: What if Jane Austen was depraved...and slightly Russian?
May 13, 2020
The Great is a showcase for McNamara's sparkling dialogue, which draws attention to the writing of history itself in exciting ways.
May 14, 2020
Coupled with overly long episode run times, The Great loses steam in the middle. Catherine's triumphant moment of becoming falls victim to too predictable romance.
May 13, 2020
A historical treat that lives up to its title. Both sweet and acerbic, it's as bingeable as Catherine's macarons and Peter's vodka. Huzzah!
May 11, 2020
"The Great" doesn't exactly live up to the title. Fanning and crew work wonders, but it's unclear who this series is aimed at.
May 14, 2020
Against all expectations I had for the show (10 hours of Russian history, sans any tonal context, sounds like a miserable slog), it is a total, breezy delight.
May 14, 2020
Yet in a sense, the same way "Hamilton" put a fresh spin on early American politics, "The Great" helps our understanding of dusty old figures by placing them in an engaging, present day context.
May 14, 2020
There's a singular darkness to The Great that will startle viewers... There are moments of terror and horror, too, and an enthusiastically cavalier approach to historical detail that adds to a sense of heightened reality.
May 14, 2020
"The Great" grows tediously and even torturously long - which may be its cruelest joke of all, as its appreciable style and sass surrender to repetitious rounds of palace intrigue.
May 13, 2020
As with McNamara's justly celebrated screenplay for The Favourite, it's the emotional honesty of The Great that allows the comedy to land so viciously.
May 14, 2020
Reality is rarely as funny as this sparkling period satire, set in mid-18th century Russia amid a sneaky coup d'état that plays out like a Scooby gang caper (with wigs).
