The Great

Complex characters, witty dialogue, a precarious play for power and just the right touches of humor make for riveting television.

Beautifully made and complex, and unflinching when it needs to be, The Great at times feels like a light meal, but then reveals its surprising density. It’s a show that’s easy to underestimate, but promises to be unforgettable.

McNamara's scripts soar with effervescent humor and cleverness that Fanning amplifies with a sense of dignified, wry nonchalance. Fox is a swift partner at her side as Marial, while Hoult, who also appears in "The Favourite," manages to make Peter enjoyable despite his misdeeds. ... Ornate sets, beautiful lighting and impressive cinematography make "The Great" easy to take in, but its raucous energy, and the message at its center, certify it as a sweet binge that nourishes nevertheless.

Reality is rarely as funny as this sparkling period satire. ... Throughout, I sensed Fanning — along with the rest of the cast — savoring McNamara’s brilliant script, with its carefully arranged layers of intention and its divine insults.

The important thing, of course, is that it feels real. As with McNamara’s justly celebrated screenplay for “The Favourite,” it’s the emotional honesty of “The Great” that allows the comedy to land so viciously. Like that lauded cast, this one maintains that precarious balance with apparent ease.

Alternately riotous and poignant.

Historically bonkers.

From its title to its tone to its production design and look, “The Great” mirrors “The Favourite” quite a bit. “The Great” is at its, uh, greatest when Fanning and Hoult spark off one another with McNamara’s rat-a-tat-tat dialogue.

McNamara could have drilled down on the parallels to contemporary world leaders, but The Great’s humor and observations are sharper in their timelessness. Like Catherine, The Great succeeds because it knows when to keep some things to itself.

Period pieces can sometimes feel like a lecture, but The Great, elevated by brilliant performances from both of its leads and a bold and genuinely funny script, is far from a bore.

Obviously, this is a comedy so let's hope people keep a sense of humour and don't start drearily demanding that the audience should be warned that there may be historical inaccuracies as they did with The Crown. It's light-hearted and funny and right now that's no bad thing.

The show may not be historically accurate, but it slices through history like a hot poker, to royalty’s rancid core.

That durable comedic setup, the Battle of the Sexes—entitled, boorish Peter versus intelligent, hardworking Catherine—is at the heart of The Great. But there’s another kind of historical comedy here. Catherine is the new, struggling to be born; Peter is the old, fighting against change. The problem of emergent modernity has never been so funny.

A simple check of Google could tell you how this all turns out but it’s fascinating to see how McNamara bends the narrative to fit the message.

It is a total, breezy delight.

Juggling wit, depravity and political intrigue is not easy, and “The Great” doesn’t always succeed at it. ... For all its royal silliness, and a sometimes appalling affrontery, “The Great” is redeemed at the end of its 10-episode season (a second has yet to be announced) by a dose of realpolitik that few will see coming.

Aside from the issues of its length, though, The Great pulls off the trick of its own internal contradictions. It is fun, somehow, which is extra impressive amid so much torture and death and critique of aristocratic privilege. ... The show’s Catherine the Great may not have much at all to do with the real woman, but she and Emperor Peter come alive anyhow. They’re true to The Great’s vision of them, even though the details are all made up.

It isn’t quite the perfectly paced masterpiece that movie was; some episodes drag, including a smallpox romp that’s more tiresome than timely. Still, its witty dialogue and lively performances yield a sharp, fun dramedy.

Peter is fond of saying “Huzzah!” to cheer on his own pitiful efforts at governance. By the time you reach The Great‘s end, you’ll likely be saying it yourself, and more confidently than Peter ever does.

“The Great” straddles the line between period drama and slapstick comedy with acrobatic ease. ... The cast is uniformly strong, and the series’ brisk and deliberate pacing makes sure to let each central actor show it (and luxuriate in McNamara’s uniquely spiky dialogue, besides).

"The Great" is an engaging historical satire that resonates thanks to its vision of courtly debauchery and the tremendous acting by Fanning, Hoult and the rest of the cast.

“The Great” is absolutely worth watching for Hoult alone, and for the scattered moments throughout each episode in which the writing or acting rises to his level.