Running out of TV shows and movies to stream? The Purbalite is here to help, with another installment of our What to Binge Watch feature.
The Great on Hulu is a three-season series that premiered in 2020 and is based loosely on Catherine and Peter the Great and adds a humorous aspect to the historical figures and their lives.
The pair is set up by an arranged marriage set up by their parents. While Peter (Nicholas Hoult) has more realistic notions of what people expect of their marriage – an heir – Catherine (Elle Fanning) is naive and does not know that her marriage won’t be as romantic and mystical as she thought.
This leads the pair to get off to a rocky start. Instead of wallowing and accepting that her marriage will be lonely, Catherine decides to revolt and break societal norms.
At that time the queen was expected to keep up with fashion, provide a few heirs, and stay out of politics. Catherine does quite the opposite.
While the show isn’t entirely true, it still has certain parts that are.
For example, Catherine the Great tried to free all the serfs during her reign but was unsuccessful, and that is included in the show. On the other hand, when the show starts, Peter is already emperor before he marries Catherine, when in reality he ascended to the throne after the pair had already been married for 17 years.
The actors themselves do exceptionally well. Catherine has a constant battle for equality throughout this series, and Fanning does an excellent job of portraying that. Catherine always stands her ground and doesn’t let anybody walk over her, which Fanning shows.
Overall the series is humorous and easy to follow, which makes it a great watch.
