Elle Fanning & Nicholas Hoult lead a uproarious trailer for Hulu’s The Great

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Much like Autumn de Wilde's EMMA, Hulu's THE GREAT looks to be having a great deal of fun with members of the aristocracy, who let's face it, are at the top of everyone's shit list during these trying times of crisis and uncertainty.

Starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, THE GREAT is a new comedic TV series based on historical events – well, kind of. Taking place in seventeenth century Russia, THE GREAT centers around Catherine the Great (Fanning), who upon arriving in Russia as a young maiden to be married to Emperor Peter (Hoult). Predictably, Peter is an insufferable sort, and is very much the kind of ruler who expects his subjects to obey his every will and whim. I suppose that's to be expected when it comes to obnoxious members of royalty, though Peter often places his stupidity on display in a fashion that is both epic as well as mystifying. As the story progresses, Catherine gets up to thinking that she is meant for greater things than remaining a servant to her king. That's when the fun truly begins.

At the helm of THE GREAT is Tony McNamara, who previously co-wrote THE FAVOURITE with Deborah Davis. McNamara is taking on a much larger role for THE GREAT, being the project's creator, writer, and executive producer. Obviously, McNamara is no stranger to satire, which THE GREAT looks to have in spades.

Filling out the rest of the cast are Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Sebastian de Souza, Bayo Gbadamosi, and Belinda Bromilow. In addition to her starring role, Fanning also serves as an executive producer on THE GREAT.

Season 1 of the series will premiere May 15 on Hulu.