In 2020 the first season of Tony McNamara's period drama The Great was released for streaming on Hulu and quickly became popular among international audiences. Based on the events surrounding Catherine the Great's accession to the Russian throne, The Great has been praised as a taboo-breaking dark comedy. The present review will problematise the show's narrative and argue that while The Great indeed had a great potential, it failed to offer any original interpretations of Catherine's personality, accession to power, and her subsequent rule.