Hulu Canceled The Great, But Nicholas Hoult & Elle Fanning Will Work Together Again

When Hulu’s The Great returned for Season 3 on May 12, Catherine and Peter’s relationship was on the brink. “There is marriage counseling… we play a lot of games, there’s a lot of talking, there’s a marriage witch involved that helps us — or doesn’t help us that much,” Elle Fanning, who plays Catherine the Great, teased during a Deadline event in April. “This is my favorite season yet — by far. I think we all felt that way filming it.”

The historical dramedy’s reign seemed likely to continue. Executive producer Marian Macgowan told Decider in 2020 that they initially pitched six seasons, adding that there’s “sufficient material to take us through until [Catherine] is an old woman.” The following year, however, series creator Tony McNamara said that he’s not sure how many seasons the show will run.

“I know a whole bunch of events that are interesting that you can hang things on,” McNamara told The Hollywood Reporter in November 2021. “At the moment, I try not to look too far ahead. At the end of Season 2, I didn’t quite know what Season 3 was. I like not knowing what comes next. If you have a show with a great ensemble and a great bunch of characters, you can invent as you go for a while.”

But alas, in a surprising twist, The Great has been canceled — meaning there won’t be a Season 4. Deadline broke the news on Aug. 30.

The outlet said it was “unclear what made the streamer decide to cancel the comedy,” considering The Great’s critical acclaim and recent Emmy win. If you watched through Season 3, you know there was a natural conclusion to one character’s journey. Spoilers ahead, of course, but Peter died — though Nicholas Hoult told Entertainment Weekly he was “looking forward to being able to watch” as a fan, and was even down to return as a ghost.

Sadly, that won’t be happening now. But on the bright side, this doesn’t necessarily mark the end of Hoult and Fanning’s creative collaboration. This summer, the pair told the Los Angeles Times that they talk “all the time” about projects they could do together — from a His Girl Friday-esque romantic comedy, to something about an iconic Hollywood couple. “We have our road trip comedy that we’re gonna write, which I think is a great idea,” Fanning said.