Huzzah! The Empress of Russia shall return with a third season!
After two seasons and some ridiculousness all around, The Great has won fans over on Hulu with its stellar comedy, lovely The Great cast, and amazing chemistry between its two leads. This show has gone on to be nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards and plenty of other great accolades, and is one of the best shows on Hulu.
But with Season 2 released in 2021, one can only wonder what to expect from The Great Season 3 after waiting for so long. Worry not, dear readers, as this is what we know about the upcoming season that you might just want to learn about before we get to see whatever ridiculousness the Empress gets into next time.
When Is The Great Season 3 Premiere Date?
Don’t get yourself into a tizzy, because The Great is premiering on May 12, 2023, according to the official announcement from Hulu. Originally, it was unknown when the next season of the show was going to come out, as it had been some time since we had seen any updates when Season 2 came to an end in 2021, but the news was announced in early March 2023.
I’m so eager to add this to my 2023 TV premiere schedule. This makes me even more excited and I can’t wait to see what comes next for Catherine as she begins to take over Russia more. Can May get here any quicker?
Elle Fanning And Nicholas Hoult Will Return
It wouldn’t quite be The Great without its lead stars, and according to Deadline, both Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult will return as Catherine the Great and Peter III.
Both actors have been very active in Hollywood for many years and have been in so many movies and TV shows. Nicholas Hoult has been in movies such as the 2023 horror/comedy, Renfield, Those Who Wish Me Dead and Mad Max: Fury Road, and has been in TV shows like Skins and Crossing Swords. He was even among the stars of some of the X-Men movies.
Elle Fanning’s most recent credits include being the lead actress in the Hulu miniseries, The Girl from Plainville, but she’s been in plenty of other roles like the Maleficent films, All The Bright Places, 20th Century Women and so many more, but it’s exciting to see her come back to this role that we love her in so much.
Elle Fanning shared her excitement over the third season, posting to Instagram regarding its renewal in 2022, captioning the video, “THIS CALLS FOR A BIG HUZZAH! We’ll be returning for a season 3!!!”
It hasn’t been confirmed who else from the main cast is set to return, but hopefully we can expect some of the same familiar faces we have grown to love and care for over the last two seasons.
Check Out The Trailer For The Great Season 3
If you’re as excited for the next season as I am, be sure to check out the trailer for The Great Season 3, featuring Peter and Catherine getting into trouble and plenty of hilarious jokes that make me even more excited for the first episode.
Season 3 Will See Catherine And Peter Trying To “Make Their Marriage Work” Amidst Even Bigger Problems
I’m sure that after Season 2’s wicked finale, we’re all anxiously awaiting to see what troubles are going to come for Catherine and Peter in Season 3. Thanks to the official synopsis from Hulu, we have at least an idea of what is going to happen in Season 3 – and it calls for more drama.
Despite planning each other’s literal deaths, Catherine and Peter are aiming to try and make their marriage work as Catherine steps more into her leadership role. Peter is trying to become more of a dad and immerse himself into other opportunities, but is constantly haunted by visions of his father, who lament him for failing to be an emperor. Catherine, meanwhile, is starting to make a name for herself, but even as she attempts to develop a new government for the people of Russia, certain compromises need to be made in order for their country to move forward.
Season 3 For Catherine And Peter Might Just Be A “Nightmare,” According To Showrunner Tony McNamara
When the ending of Season 2 first premiered in November 2021 (with the rest of the show, as Hulu does), the showrunner of The Great teased that Season 3 for both Catherine and Peter might end up being a nightmare.
If you can recall from the ending of Season 2, Catherine and Peter were often at each other’s necks despite Catherine being pregnant with his child, and once the child is born, she starts to grow a soft spot for Peter. However, she later finds out that Peter also had sex with Catherine’s mother – and ended up pushing the woman out of a window, killing her.
That resulted in Catherine planning to kill Peter, but at the very end of the finale, she realizes she can’t do it and decides to let him live, because a part of her does still care for him as much as she hates to admit it.
The showrunner was quick to say in an interview with TV Line that because Catherine has already come to the realization that she does need Peter in her life, that’s where the complications begin to start, because they have such vastly different values and ways of living.
Once they’re actually in the process of trying to bring up a kid, and their values are so different and the way they view the world is so different, it’s probably going to be a nightmare.
To be honest, The Great is an occasionally true story and I’m not expecting to see anything that’s very historically accurate, but the continuation of the tense relationship between Catherine and Peter is something I can always get behind and I can’t wait to see the chaos that Season 3 brings.
There Will Be Ten Episodes
According to the official renewal announcement that was released back in January 2022, the third season of The Great will return to Hulu with ten episodes. This would continue the trend for the show over its past two seasons where there have been ten episodes each, so it’s not that surprising to hear that the third season will also return with ten episodes.
So much happened in just ten episodes that it was almost impossible to keep up with The Great Season 2 ending and all of the drama that transpired, so I can only imagine what on earth is going to happen next for these lovely royal, Russian folk.
Filming Has Finished
Filming for the show originally took place in July 2022, but thankfully, we can confirm that filming for The Great Season 3 has come to an end. In a post that she put on her Instagram, Fanning commented that filming had concluded in December 2022 after six months of production, and that fans were “not ready” for Season 3.
Since it’s been a few months, it makes sense why the show would be coming out in May 2023 – and I am this close to counting down the days because we’re so close already!
I can only imagine what is going to happen in Season 3 of The Great and I’m sure you’re just as excited as I am for the next adventures of the Empress that changed the country of Russia forever. Now I must remain patient – which is a hard thing to do when you love this show as much as I do.
