From “The Favourite” co-writer Tony McNamara, “The Great” straddles the line between period drama and slapstick comedy with acrobatic ease.
By Caroline Framke Chief TV Critic Billing itself with a cheeky asterisk as “an occasionally true story,” Hulu’s “The Great” immediately frees itself of the usual period drama obligation to connect the historical dots.
Instead, it goes for more of an accurate vibe than a completely faithful retelling of a notoriously tumultuous time in Russian history: the six months between when a 19 year-old Catherine (executive producer Elle Fanning) married the country’s new emperor Peter (Nicholas Hoult), and the moment she overthrew him to have the throne to herself.
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