THE GREAT: Period Piece Full of Vulgar Content

THE GREAT: Period Piece Full of Vulgar Content

By Stephanie Speck

THE GREAT is a Hulu original comedy-drama series inspired by the rise of Catherine the Great, who was the Empress of Russia from 1762-1796. The series bills itself as “an occasionally true story” and while some of the details in the series are historically accurate, many of them have been exaggerated or satirized for entertainment purposes.

Although THE GREAT stars several prominent names such as Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, and Sacha Dhawan, the series is far too vulgar to recommend for viewers.

Catherine travels to Russia to marry the Emperor, Peter. Catherine is full of excitement and hope for her new role as Peter’s wife and Empress of Russia. She believes that she’s been sent to her new homeland for a purpose. Catherine quickly becomes discouraged after discovering that Peter doesn’t love her, nor the people he’s supposed to be serving. She decides the only solution to her unhappiness is to overthrow Peter and save Russia from his tyrannical rule.

THE GREAT is rated TV-MA. The series is filled with crude humor and features an excessive vulgar language. Characters use the F-word dozens of times. There are also several profanities, and characters take the Lord’s name in vain.

The series is saturated with explicit sexual content, including obscene sexual discussions, scenes of sexual activity, and nudity. Characters on the show frequently participate in off-color sexual discussions about sexual activities that they and others engage in. This includes rumors about a woman participating in inappropriate behavior with a horse. There are frequent scenes depicting sexual acts in both public and private settings. Orgies often take place at the palace. The Emperor and Empress openly have extramarital affairs. The series also features scenes of upper male and female nudity. Viewers see bare behinds and backs. In one sequence, the Emperor walks around the palace naked.

THE GREAT also contains scenes of violence and disturbing images. The violent content includes images of war, gun violence, sword fighting, assassinations, and animal killing. Royal servants are physically punished. There are graphic scenes depicting blood, dead bodies, and severed heads. The mummified body of the Emperor’s mother is on display at the palace. THE GREAT also features a young member of the royal family who is kept locked away due to madness and aggressive behavior. He’s assassinated by an older family member. There are also many scenes of drinking and drunken behavior.

THE GREAT presents a shallow, materialistic worldview in which characters are driven by worldly desires. The main characters spend their days pleasuring themselves and seeking ways to achieve more wealth and power. Characters lie, betray, and plot against one another.

THE GREAT also presents a confused religious perspective in which the archbishop and other religious leaders emphasize visions and signs as opposed to a relationship with Jesus Christ. The archbishop uses visions as a means to manipulate. Because the Emperor believes he was ordained by God, he also believes he’s entitled to do as he desires without accountability.

The real Catherine the Great was born in Prussia (modern-day Poland) and married Charles Peter Ulrich at the age of 16. At the time of their marriage, Peter’s aunt was the Empress of Russia. Catherine and Peter’s arranged marriage was an unhappy one. They had open affairs with other lovers. After 18 years of marriage and several months into his reign, Catherine organized a coup that forced Peter to abdicate his throne. During her 34-year reign, Catherine the Great fostered the Age of Enlightenment. She is further credited with promoting education, literature, and the arts.

THE GREAT had the potential to be an interesting and educational program. Instead, in its attempt to be entertaining, it contains far too much off-color and offensive humor. Due to the excessively inappropriate content, THE GREAT is not recommended for viewers in any age group.