May 15 is a big day for Nicholas Hoult. It’s the 10-year anniversary of Mad Max: Fury Road, one of the best films to come out this century, and it’s also when his new TV series debuts on Hulu. The Great stars Hoult as the Peter III of Russia to Elle Fanning’s Catherine the Great, the country’s longest-ruling female leader. If the “thoroughly modern with occasional historical facts” trailer above reminds you of The Favourite, that’s because it was created by the Best Picture nominee’s co-writer Tony McNamara.
Here’s the official plot synopsis:
The Great is a satirical, comedic drama about the rise of Catherine the Great from outsider to the longest reigning female ruler in Russia’s history. Season one is a fictionalized, fun and anachronistic story of an idealistic, romantic young girl, who arrives in Russia for an arranged marriage to the mercurial Emperor Peter. Hoping for love and sunshine, she finds instead a dangerous, depraved, backward world that she resolves to change. All she has to do is kill her husband, beat the church, baffle the military and get the court onside. A very modern story about the past which encompasses the many roles she played over her lifetime as lover, teacher, ruler, friend, and fighter.
The Great, which also stars Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Sebastian de Souza, Bayo Gbadamosi and Belinda Bromilow, premieres on May 15 on Hulu.