By Flora Carr

Published: Wednesday, 17 November 2021 at 12:00 am

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Huzzah! Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult return for a second season of Hulu’s The Great, the zany historical romp about Catherine the Great (Fanning), and billed as “an occasionally true story”.

The anachronistic, “fictionalised” series first aired last year, and followed a teenage Catherine as she arrived in Russia for an arranged marriage to the mercurial, philandering Emperor Peter.

In season two, “Catherine finally takes the Russian throne for her own — but she will quickly learn that dethroning her husband was just the beginning,” according to the official synopsis.

“Catherine must now face the realities of ‘liberating’ a country that doesn’t want to be free. Her fight to bring enlightenment to Russia will mean battling her own court and those closest to her, including her own mother.”

Penned by Tony McNamara, co-writer of The Favourite, the Emmy-nominated drama won rave reviews during its first outing (check out our four-star review of The Great season one), and expectations are even higher this year, especially given the high-profile cast addition of Gillian Anderson (Sex Education, The Crown) as Elle Fanning’s on-screen mother.

Read on for everything you need to know about The Great season two.

The Great season 2 release date

The new season of The Great will premiere on STARZPLAY via Amazon Prime on Sunday 5^th December in the UK.

In the US, The Great season two will be released on Hulu on Friday 19th November.

The Great season 2 cast

Elle Fanning plays future Russian leader Catherine the Great alongside Nicholas Hoult (The Favourite) as her idiotic husband, Emperor Peter. Season two also sees the addition of Gillian Anderson, playing Fanning’s on-screen mother, Joanna.

Other The Great cast members from season one include Sebastian de Souza (Skins) as Catherine’s court lover Leo; Sacha Dhawan as Orlov; Adam Godley as the Orthodox archbishop; and Phoebe Fox as Marial.

The Great season 2 trailer

You can watch the trailer for The Great season two below to get a first glimpse at Gillian Anderson in character – and to hear some truly incredible bits of dialogue!