David Farnor | On 07, May 2020

Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult star in The Great, a new series about the rise of Catherine the Great in Russia. While that might sound like a worthy period drama, though, a trailer confirms that the show is very much a comedy.

From the writer of The Favourite, Tony McNamara, The Great is a satirical series about the longest reigning female ruler in Russia’s history. Season 1 is a fictionalised, fun and anachronistic story of an idealistic, romantic young girl, who arrives in Russia for an arranged marriage to the mercurial Emperor Peter. Hoping for love and sunshine, she finds instead a dangerous, depraved, backward world that she resolves to change. All she has to do is kill her husband, beat the church, baffle the military and get the court onside. A very modern story about the past which encompasses the many roles she played over her lifetime as lover, teacher, ruler, friend, and fighter.

All 10 episodes of the series premiere at once on 18th June on STARZPLAY. The streaming service is available as an iOS and Android app, as well as through Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video Channels and as an add-on on Virgin TV. It costs £4.99 a month.

 

The Great is available on STARZPLAY, as part of a £4.99 monthly subscription.

 

 

The Great: STARZPLAY snaps up Elle Fanning historical drama

27th February 2020

STARZPLAY has snapped up the UK rights for The Great, a new historical drama starring Elle Fanning.

From Oscar-nominated writer Tony McNamara (The Favourite), 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. With only occasional historical facts the 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 is created, written and executive produced by McNamara and executive produced by Marian Macgowan, Thruline’s Josh Kesselman and Ron West, Echo Lake’s Brittany Kahan Ward, Doug Mankoff and Andrew Spaulding, Elle Fanning, Mark Winemaker and Matt Shakman. The project is produced by Civic Center Media in association with MRC Television.

The licensing agreement with ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group will make STARZPLAY the show’s exclusive streaming home in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Latin America.
 
“The Great has everything that STARZPLAY looks to offer our global audience who has come to expect premium content from us,” says Superna Kalle, EVP, Starz International Digital Networks. “An award-winning writer, an extremely talented cast, and not least of all, a highly entertaining story that delivers in equal parts on wit and heart. We’re very proud to add The Great to our content offering.”
 
STARZPLAY is available on Prime Video Channels, the Apple TV app, Virgin Media, and the recently launched STARZPLAY App for iOs and Android. It joins award-winning series such as The Act and Ramy, as well as Batman prequel Pennyworth and Stephen King and J.J. Abrams’ Castle Rock along with STARZ Originals including The Spanish Princess and Vida. 
 
The Great is scheduled to premiere in summer 2020.

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