Although it doesn’t receive the same attention as Netflix, and it’s now sort of integrated into Disney+, Hulu remains a pretty excellent source for TV, especially for shows oriented toward adults. If you want to watch something on Hulu, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a particular show in mind.
Thankfully, that’s where we come in. If you’re looking for a Hulu show to watch this July, we’d recommend checking out The Great. This satirical look at the rise of Catherine the Great is well worth checking out, even if it doesn’t sound like the kind of show you’d usually enjoy. Here are three reasons why:
Need more recommendations? Then check out the best new shows to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, the best shows on Amazon Prime Video, the best shows on HBO Max, and the best shows on Disney+.
Its twin lead performances are exceptional
Even in an era when there are tons of great actors on TV, there is something particularly extraordinary about Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult’s dueling performances as Catherine and Emperor Peter III, a pair of ambitious power-grabbers who definitely care for each other but don’t want that love to get in the way of their unending desire for power.
Hoult and Fanning are hysterical in their central roles. The duo is uniquely gifted at taking overtly dramatic scenes and lacing them with comedy, and vice versa. Hoult and Fanning are ably backed up by a stellar supporting cast, but it’s impossible to deny that the two of them are the stars of the show.
It has total mastery of an impossible tonal balance
Mastery of tone is a difficult task for any show to accomplish, but that’s especially true for a bizarre project like this one. The Great might be based on real history, but it delights in being ahistorical, in combining actual events with whatever whims or thoughts its creative teams might have.
The result is a show that feels both serious and silly. It’s a show that understands the people who lived through actual history were defined as much by their faults and foibles as everyone who’s alive today. Catherine and Peter might have been significant to history, but they were also strange, funny, and surprising in ways that any well-written character should be.
They spared no expense
Although the show only lasted for three seasons, The Great looks every bit as good as every period piece you’ve ever seen on the big screen.
The costumes, sets, and production design are impeccable, and as a result, the show also happens to be one of the more beautiful on television. The Great has never been the Emmy favorite that it probably should have been, but it’s gorgeous nonetheless.
You can watch The Great on Hulu.
