Gillian Anderson (The Crown) will appear in season two of Hulu’s The Great, according to Deadline. The Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress will play Catherine the Great’s (Elle Fanning, The Beguiled) mother, Joanna, in two episodes of the comedic drama.
The Great is a fictionalized account of Empress Catherine II’s rise to power in Russia, according to Deadline. The first season centered around her marriage to Emperor Peter III (Nicholas Hoult, Crossing Swords).
Joanna, a socialite from Germany with a history of matchmaking, arrives in Russia after hearing about her daughter’s coup. Deadline reports that though she is “a doting mother, it soon becomes clear Joanna has more sinister intentions to save her family’s reputation.”
The Great is created and written by Tony McNamara (The Favourite), according to Deadline. The season one cast, in addition to Fanning and Hoult, included Phoebe Fox (Curfew), Adam Godley (The Umbrella Academy), Gwilym Lee (Jamestown), Charity Wakefield (Bounty Hunters), Douglas Hodge (The Undoing), Sacha Dhawan (Doctor Who), Bayo Gbadamosi (War of the Worlds) and Belinda Bromilow (Doctor Doctor).
Anderson recently gave a critically-hailed performance as Margaret Thatcher on Netflix’s The Crown. She has appeared in television shows like Sex Education, The Fall, Hannibal and The X-Files. Up next, she will star as Eleanor Roosevelt in Showtime’s The First Lady.
McNamara executive produces The Great alongside Fanning, Hoult, Marian Macgowan (Blessed), Josh Kesselman (1922), Ron West (Ironside), Brittany Kahan Ward (The Girl From Plainville), Doug Mankoff (Nebraska), Andrew Spaulding (The Numbers Station), Mark Winemaker (Suits) and Matt Shakman (Wandavision).