HBO has released the official trailer for the upcoming limited seriesCatherine the Great. The series starsHelen Mirrenas the titular 18th-century Russian monarch andJason Clarkeas Grigory Potemkin, a military man and one of Catherine’s many lovers.
The official trailer puts a majority of its focus on Catherine (Mirren), naturally, and hints at how central her fight to maintain her position of power is as her male advisors attempt to sow distrust with those at court. Catherine is, as the trailer repeatedly tells us, an atypical ruler for her time. She flaunts her rotating roster of lovers at public events. She goes out onto the battlefield to see how things are progressing. She yells at any person who dares defy her. There will no doubt be plenty of opportunities for Mirren to chew a bit of scenery in this limited series but, in a lush period drama of this magnitude, it’s expected. Of course, things get a little bit complicated when military man Potemkin (Clarke) enters the scene as Catherine’s main squeeze who gets a little taste for power and potentially wants more. Men: you can’t live with ‘em and you can’t live without ‘em.
In addition to Mirren and Clarke,Catherine the Great’s cast includesRory Kinnear(Skyfall),Kevin McNally(Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl),Paul Kaye(Game of Thrones), andSam Palladio(Nashville). The limited series was directed byPhilip Martin(Wallander,The Crown), who also directed Mirren in the 1991 limited TV seriesPrime Suspect.
The four-partCatherine the Greatlimited series debuts on HBO on July 10, 2025. Check out the official trailer below.
