TV Review: Catherine The Great (Sky Atlantic) – Miniseries

Written by Nigel Williams and directed by Philip Martin, Catherine the Great premiered on Sky Atlanticin October 2019. The four-part series stars Helen Mirren as the titular Catherine the Great and depicts her reign from 1764, two years after taking power, until her death in 1796, and her affair with Russian military leader Grigory Potemkin (Jason Clarke) that helped shape the future of Russian politics.

Rating:

Since I’ve started watching The Great on Channel 4, I thought it was about time that I caught up with this series that focuses on the later years of Catherine the Great’s life.

The set designs and costumes are stunning and Helen Mirren gives a phenomenal performance. But while I feel like I learnt a lot about this period of history and got to know the character quite well, I was never fully captivated to continue watching. I was certainly coming back out of interest rather than intrigue. The writing is quite poor, but a strong cast pulls it through.