The Great reveals more about Catherine’s life

Wednesday: The Great - (Channel 4, 10pm)
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Huzzah! One of TV’s most outrageous period dramas, The Great, is back for a second series, which is good news for anyone who wondered what happened next after the dramatic season one finale.

For newcomers, the series is loosely based on the life of Catherine the Great of Russia (Elle Fanning), who came to power by overthrowing her husband, Peter III (Nicholas Hoult).

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The first run followed her as she arrived in Russia as an idealistic young bride, only to become increasingly disillusioned with her childish, womanising husband and his lack of interest in improving the lot of his people.

Velementov, Catherine and OrloVelementov, Catherine and Orlo
Velementov, Catherine and Orlo

The season ended in explosive fashion with Peter discovering that his wife had organised a coup – and that she was pregnant.

Some viewers may think that one way to learn the rest of the story would be to consult a history book, but The Great has never been too concerned with sticking to the facts.

The show’s creator, Tony McNamara, whose previous credits include co-writing the screenplay for the Oscar-winning The Favourite, laid out his vision ahead of the first series.

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He explained: “I think I wanted to be true to certain events in Catherine’s life but also create a show that felt contemporary so not be yoked to details of history that didn’t help tell her story, and were anti drama.

“In The Favourite it was similar – we cut extraneous history if it didn’t serve the essential core of the story.

“What’s strange is some of the more bonkers ideas and details in the show are actually historically accurate.”

So, we should brace ourselves for some surprises, especially as the show features an unpredictable character like Peter, whose reaction to his wife’s betrayal might not be quite what you expect.

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Hoult told Newsweek: “For Peter, it is interesting because he loses the empire and kind of fails in many ways but I think he finds that quite freeing to a degree, and does try and change and become a better person through that.

“He is very excited to become a father, that was a huge thing making an heir and securing the bloodline of Peter so that’s a big thing, and also the more Catherine kind of takes charge and becomes more ruthless, the more he sees those sides of her personality, the more he falls in love with her.”

Meanwhile, Catherine will be facing her own challenges across the series as she tries to liberate a country that doesn’t necessarily want to be free.

She also finds herself battling her court and those closest to her, including her own mother (played by welcome new addition Gillian Anderson).

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However, the action picks up four months after the coup began, as Catherine’s forces are in one wing of the palace, with Peter in another.

Is there anything that can end the stalemate?

And is Catherine deluding herself by holding out hope that her missing lover Leo might still be alive?

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