Everyone’s favorite period drama, The Great, got some bad news today. Obviously, it’s not everyone’s favorite because Hulu canceled the show after three seasons.
Hulu declined to comment on the reason, but the show is a critic’s favorite and has garnered seven Emmy nods since its debut in 2020. It starred Elle Fanning as Catherine the Great and Nicholas Hoult as her love interest, the dashing Peter III of Russia.
It was set in the late 1700s in Russia and focused on Catherine and her place in our history. It also starred Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Bayo Gbadamosi, Belinda Bromilow, Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, and Charity Wakefield. Deadline first reported the cancellation.
In season 3, Catherine dealt with the death of a major character, and some are insinuating that this is the reason for the cancellation, along with the ongoing strikes. The season also ended positively and without a cliffhanger, which can easily serve as a season finale.
Fanning earned a bucket of nominations for her portrayal, including the best actress Emmy nom, two Golden Globe noms, and the show itself won the 2022 Emmy for Outstanding Period Costumes.
The show’s final season was released in May. We don’t know just how many people were watching the show because Hulu doesn’t release streaming numbers, and the show didn’t hit the top ten on Nielsen.
The show also featured many clothed sex scenes, which Fanning told W magazine was intentional.
“Normally we have thousands of layers on because we have so many corsets and so many petticoats. So the only thing to do is just flip the skirt up. If someone is like, “Can we please undo the corset?” the costume designer’s like, “No, no, they would have to have a handmaid in to do that.” It really kills the mood if she’s coming in and saying, “One second, let me undo this for you.” So the sex scenes were always fully clothed, pretty much.”
All three seasons of The Great are currently streaming on Hulu.