“The Great,” the period piece show about Russian Empress Catherine II, has been canceled by Hulu after its third season. The series starred Elle Fanning (“Maleficent”), as Catherine and Nicholas Hoult (“Renfield”), as her husband Emperor Peter III. The third, and now final, season premiered over three months ago.
The dramedy was a critical favorite and well received among fans since premiering in 2020. The show has received several Emmy nominations, winning Outstanding Period Costumes last year. Unfortunately it is hard to tell exactly how many people watch the series as Hulu, like other streaming networks, doesn’t share viewing data. What is known is that season three did not make the top 10 original series list for Nielsen.
“The Great” also starred Phoebe Fox, Sacha Dhawan, Charity Wakefield, Gwilym Lee, Adam Godley, Douglass Hodge, and many more. The series was created by Tony McNamara and the premiere episode was directed by Matt Shakeman. Fanning and Hoult even assisted McNamara as executive producers.
Fans are quite upset over the series being canceled, some even criticizing Hulu’s lack of promotion for the show. As someone who’s only knowledge of the Russian Empress is about her intimacy with a horse, the dramedy was a chance to learn more. Fanning did amazing work as Catherine, which earned her five awards nominations.
Hulu has not yet given a reason for the cancellation. Our money is that they are going to blame the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The three seasons of “The Great” is still available to stream on Hulu.
