Helen Mirren to star as Catherine The Great in HBO miniseries
January 26, 2018
Helen Mirren has worked out a deal with HBO to play Catherine the Great in a four-party miniseries. Not only will she star in it, she’ll executive produce it as well. The story will take place in the latter part of Catherine’s life and according to Entertainment Weekly, sounds like it will revolve around Catherine’s affair with Grigory Potemkin.
Period pieces have been kind to Helen Mirren. She played Queen Charlotte in The Madness of King George, Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, and the titular Elizabeth I, on top of numerous works of Shakespeare and her new gothic tale, Winchester. Now she’ll add Catherine the Great to that list.
The Oscar winner will play the title role in HBO and Sky’s upcoming four-part miniseries, Catherine the Great, which will explore the politically and sexually charged court of this powerful Russian monarch.
Directed by Mirren’s Prime Suspect helmer, Philip Martin, and penned by Elizabeth I’s Nigel Williams, the limited television event will follow Catherine towards the end of her reign in the 18th century as she struck a passionate relationship with Grigory Potemkin.
“I am very excited by the possibility of embodying a woman from history who grabbed and then wielded great power,” Mirren said in a statement. “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. I am very grateful to have HBO and Sky as partners in this endeavour. There are no other homes on television that bring the support and understanding needed for this kind of project.”
“Helen Mirren came to me with the idea for Catherine the Great when we were working with her on Woman in Gold, saying it’s a part she’s always wanted to play,” executive producer David M. Thompson said. “I’m delighted we’re now making the series and indeed we can’t think of anyone better for the role.”
I have a lot of respect for Nigel Williams and I don’t really know Philip Martin’s work but I have heard good things about Prime Suspect. And good for Helen to go after her wish to play the empress. I understand why she chose this timeframe for the story but I’m a little bummed they are framing this around her Potemkin affair. There is so much more to say about Catherine the Great than that. I’d rather see the relationship between her and her son Paul and grandsons and the fight for succession. But I guess sex sells.
I wonder what this project will do for the Barbra Streisand-directed biopic that’s been trying to find a home for a while now?
Photo credit: WENN Photos