HBO is bringing Helen Mirren to TV. The premium cable network is teaming with Europe’s Sky for a four-part Catherine the Great miniseries starring The Queen Oscar winner Mirren.
The mini, which will begin production this year, will star Mirren as Catherine and explore the politically tumultuous and sexually charged court of the most powerful female monarch in history. The series will follow Catherine toward the end of her reign and her passionate affair with Grigory Potemkin (uncast). Amid scandal, intrigue and conflict, HBO and Sky are billing the mini as a story of obsessive love. Unable to publicly marry and famously promiscuous, they develop a unique and devoted relationship, overcoming their adversaries and together shaping Russia as we know it today.
Catherine the Great will be written by Nigel Williams, who will reunite with Mirren and HBO after penning the script for the cabler’s 2005 miniseries Elizabeth I. Philip Martin, who won an Emmy for directing Mirren in Prime Suspect, will direct. Exec producers include David M. Thompson (Woman in Gold, Death Comes to Pemberley) for Origin Pictures; Charlie Pattinson (Elizabeth I, The Missing, Skins) for New Pictures; Mirren; and Martin. Jules Hussey (Hooten and the Lady) produces.
“I am very excited by the possibility of embodying a woman from history who grabbed and then wielded great power,” Mirren said. “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 endeavor. There are no other homes on television that bring the support and understanding needed for this kind of project.”
Catherine the Great is the third Sky and HBO collaboration following their $250 million co-production deal. Sky and HBO previously partnered on Chernobyl, starring Jared Harris; and Gangs of London. HBO will have stateside rights to Catherine the Great and air it in Canada via its output deal with Bell Media.
