Huzzah! The news that “The Great” will return for season 3 is fantastic (sorry) for those of us watching at home, but unfortunate for young Catherine II and her attempts to introduce the Enlightenment to Russia. Season 2 simply intensified the gloomy absurdity of season 1, putting everything in Catherine’s path—from unexpected pregnancy cravings to crocodiles and war-mongering adversaries. The programme also continued to follow the development of its namesake into an effective leader, transforming her from the fearless but naive visionary she once was into a leader forced to balance her idealistic worldview with the harsh realities of what it takes to implement long-lasting social and political change.
With the show’s subtitle changing from “An Occasionally True Story” to “An Almost Entirely Untrue Story” in the season 2 finale, it is obvious that “The Great” is no longer on the horizon as far as Catherine’s real-life events are concerned. Hopefully, though, that will make season 3 an even more wild trip as we wait to find out what happens in the alternate historical Russia that series creator Tony McNamara and his colleagues creators have conceived (a country where everyone wants to either kill or bang each other, if not both).
When and Where to Watch The Great Season 3
Like seasons 1 and 2, Hulu “The Great” season 3 will have ten episodes and only be available on Hulu. Due to the pandemic, the second season of the show didn’t premiere until November 19, 2021, as opposed to the first season’s May 15, 2020 release. The turnaround between seasons 2 and 3 should therefore be shorter, depending on how things develop in the upcoming months. (Push on the wood.) Although early 2023 might be more probable, a late 2022 arrival is also possible.
Another consideration is that before “When the television series “The Great” debuted, executive producer Marian Macgowan revealed that it was intended to last for several seasons, saying (via Decider), “We originally pitched six seasons. We therefore assume that there is enough content to last us till [Catherine] is an old woman.” That alone suggests that season 3 may already have a basic structure in place.
What We Think The Great Season 3 Will Be About
It appears that those kids will stick together in spite of what happened to Catherine’s mother Joanna — a matter that, obviously, Catherine won’t be forgetting anytime soon — even though Season 2 ended with Catherine almost killing Peter (it turned out she had really stabbed his double Pugachev, who was somehow fine, if annoyed). Peter appears to have plans to continue trying to be a good husband to her and a caring father to their son Paul in the interim. Even though Catherine is now more conscious of the disconnect between her ideals of love and philosophy and the messy fact of human nature, she hasn’t given up on improving Russia.
The season 2 finale also left several other unresolved plot lines for “The Great” season 3 to pick up, such as what would happen to Marial now that Catherine has jailed her after Mariel revealed the truth about Joanna, as well as Arkady, Tatyana, and Grigor (who, unlike Mariel, were conspiring against Catherine). Georgina, who has persuaded Catherine that she agrees with the Enlightenment, is another issue. Catherine will need to come up with fresh strategies to undermine the Empress without the help of her fellow nobility. Additionally, Archie continues to struggle with his beliefs, but he has stopped planning against Catherine, who has stopped wanting to kill him. (Orlo can’t be said to be the same.) Progress?
What We Know About The Great Season 3 Cast and Crew
The majority of the main actors from “The Great” seasons 1 and 2 will return for season 3, including Charity Wakefield, Belinda Bromilow, Nicholas Hoult, Sacha Dhawan, and Elle Fanning as Catherine, Orlo, and Velementov, respectively (Georgina). Florence Keith-Roach (Tatyana), Bayo Gbadamosi (Arkady), Gwilym Lee (Grigor), and Phoebe Fox (Marial) will all undoubtedly return, though it’s possible that their roles will be scaled back or limited to fewer episodes, depending on what Catherine has in mind for them and how quickly she and Marial mend their relationship. (Supposing they do. Even Gillian Anderson might make an appearance as Joanna at some point. We can’t rule out Catherine having a similar conversation with her deceased mother after all, if Peter can receive a visit from his deceased father (Jason Isaacs).
Season 3 will include McNamara as the chief writer and showrunner once more, with Colin Bucksey, who directed several episodes in seasons 1 and 2, possibly making a comeback as a director. One assumes (indeed, expects) that composer Nathan Barr will return to finish creating the soundtrack for the programme (which, up to this point, has been a pitch-perfect blend of regal and irreverent musical themes). Beyond that, it’s unclear who will be in charge of regulating the hedonistic behaviour and absurd violence that will ensue when the show starts its utterly fictitious journey through Catherine the Great’s life.
