EXCLUSIVE: OK, this one hurts. Hulu has canceled fan favorite The Great after three seasons.
The series starred Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult. Created, written and executive produced by Tony McNamara, The Great reinvented the period drama by revisiting the life of Catherine the Great, Russia’s reigning empress from 1762 to 1796. It depicted an iconic character and her place in history through a unique prism.
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The third season dropped May 12 and revolved around Catherine (Fanning) and Nicholas (Hoult) working on their marriage.
It’s unclear what made the streamer decide to cancel the comedy, which garnered positive reviews and seven Emmy nominations since launching in 2020. It won an Emmy for Outstanding Period Costumes in 2022, the same year that Fanning and Hoult earned their first nominations for headlining the popular series. Fanning also received numerous other accolades for her performance as Catherine, including a SAG, a Critics Choice, an Independent Spirit Award and two Golden Globe nominations.
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A spokesperson for Hulu declined comment.
The Great also starred Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Bayo Gbadamosi and Belinda Bromilow. Several key characters were killed off in the third season, which earned the strongest accolades compared to the previous two seasons.
The season 3 finale wasn’t exactly a cliffhanger, as it ends with Catherine showing tremendous growth as a ruler (while sporting a new haircut). She also dances to AC/DC.
Besides McNamara, The Great was also executive produced by Fanning, Hoult, Marian Macgowan, Mark Winemaker, Echo Lake’s Brittany Kahan Ward, Doug Mankoff and Andrew Spaulding, Thruline’s Ron West and Josh Kesselman. The project is produced by Civic Center Media in association with MRC Television.