‘The Great’ Fans Mourn The Elle Fanning Series as Hulu Abruptly Cancels It After Three Seasons

By Radhamely De Leon
Published Aug. 30, 2023, 3:12 p.m. ET

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After three successful seasons, The Great has officially been canceled by Hulu – and fans are not happy.

Starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, the hit series from Tony McNamara explored the life and reign of Catherine the Great through a unique, comedic lens.

The series scored seven Emmy Award nominations throughout its run, nabbing one win for Outstanding Period Costumes in 2022. Fanning’s portrayal of Catherine the Great has also been praised by critics and awards committees alike, scoring Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe nominations in 2022 for her performance.

The show’s sudden cancelation has left its audience confused, considering the show consistently received positive reviews. As The Hollywood Reporter noted, the show’s streaming numbers are not publicly available but it did not make Nielsen’s top 10 original streaming list.

Hulu has not addressed why the show was canceled.

This news comes just three months after the third season premiered on the streamer on May 12.

The Great Season 3 focused on Catherine and Peter trying to mend their marriage after she staged a coup to take over control of Russia and attempted to have him killed. The season, which will now stand as the series finale, saw Catherine coming into her own as a leader and gave some closure to her story.

Fans on Twitter were not happy about the news.

“Hulu failed to market this show correctly and it’s so sad because it’s truly one of the best shows,” one fan tweeted.

“What? I guess we’re cancelling Emmy nominated shows now,” another fan remarked.

“I hope those two get to do more shows or films together in the future. They had wonderful chemistry and timing,” one viewer said of Fanning and Hoult.

The show was created in 2020 by Tony McNamara, the screenwriter behind the 2018 period dramedy The Favourite and the highly anticipated film starring Emma Stone, Poor Things, that is slated to come out later this year.

All three seasons of The Great are now streaming on Hulu.