'The Great' Season 3 Will Premiere on Hulu This May

Huzzah! The third season of Hulu's sly, satirical, and utterly delightful period drama The Great will officially premiere on the streamer this May.

The series comes from Oscar-winner Tony McNamara (The Favourite) and stars Elle Fanning as Empress Catherine the Great, the longest-reigning female monarch in Russian history. Nicholas Hoult plays her charming, occasionally violent husband, Peter III. Offbeat, irreverent, and largely historically inaccurate, the show is a surprisingly deft exploration of the roles of women in power and the difficult compromises they must often make to stay there. 

Season 2 saw Catherine finally take the Russian throne for her own, though she ran into plenty of problems trying to "enlighten" a country that isn't necessarily eager to embrace new ways of thinking and living. And, of course, there's Peter, who Catherine just can't seem to shake -- either politically or from her own heart, despite the fact that she overthrew his government and tried to kill him. (Do we care that the real Peter died shortly after Catherine came to power? No, no we do not. Sometimes being fast and loose with the facts is a blessing.)

According to the official press release announcing Season 3's premiere, Season 3 will see the pair trying to make their marriage work despite their mutual betrayals and failings. And we love this for them, to be clear, though if past is prologue the road ahead for them will undoubtedly be a rocky one, particularly as Catherine's power and her reputation grow.

The official description has more details.

 Season 3 of “The Great” sees Catherine (Elle Fanning) and Peter (Nicholas Hoult) attempt to make their marriage work after some seemingly insurmountable problems. Peter witnessed his own attempted murder at Catherine’s hands and she also imprisoned all of his friends. On top of this, Peter is at a loose end playing First Husband to Catherine’s reign, so he busies himself with fathering, hunting and salty culinary ventures. But they’re not enough to keep him contented as visions of his late father (played by Jason Isaacs), get in his head about his failures as Peter the Great’s son. Catherine the Great starts making a name for herself beyond her borders and inspired by a visit from the US ambassador, sets up a conference where peasants, nobles and merchants can all give their input on developing a new Russia. She learns that even the best political leaders sometimes need to make compromises in order to progress. 

Alongside Fanning and Hoult, the series also stars Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Bayo Gbadamosi, and Belinda Bromilow.

All ten episodes of The Great Season 3 will arrive on Hulu on Friday, May 12.