We’ve got one week left of Game Of Thrones, and the gaps between seasons of The Crown are starting to seem really long, so you may well be in the market for a new series stuffed with regal characters, rotten rivalries and top-notch dramatic chops. If you are, Sky Atlantic and HBO have something to tempt you with: a glossy TV telling of Catherine The Great’s life, starring the mighty Helen Mirren as the 18th-century Russian empress.
The four-part series “delves into the politically tumultuous and sexually charged court of the most powerful female monarch in history,” according to Sky’s blurb for the show. It also describes its central character as “strong-minded, independent, brilliantly intelligent and sexually liberated, she was the definition of the modern woman.”
This sounds like a pretty exciting show, doesn’t it? If you need a bit more convincing before you tune in, you can watch the trailer right here…
Mirren says that she is “very excited by the possibility of embodying a woman from history who grabbed and then wielded great power. She rewrote the rules of governance by a woman, and succeeded to the extent of having the word Great attached to her name, Catherine the Great.”
The show was written by Nigel Williams (who previously wrote Elizabeth I, also starring Mirren) and directed by Philip Martin (a BAFTA-winner who also directed for The Crown). The project comes to us via Sky Atlantic and HBO, as part of their big deal to produce dramas together.
We don’t have a release date confirmed yet, but the trailer tells us that Catherine The Great will air in the autumn. As we hear more, you’ll be the first to know.
