5 must-watch new TV series you need to see this November

November TV release: The Great season 2 – Hulu

The first season of Hulu’s quirky period drama The Great was one of the most unexpected delights of 2020, a hilarious, heartfelt, and almost completely historically inaccurate depiction of the rise of Russian empress Catherine the Great, from outsider to the long-reigning female ruler in her country’s history.

The series stars Elle Fanning as Catherine and Nicholas Hoult as her husband, Emperor Peter III, and the pair’s delicious combination of sweet chemistry and snarky banter will have you more than willing to ignore the fact that the real Peter technically died  – or was murdered by Catherine’s supporters -shortly after she came to power.

Season 1 saw Catherine arrive in Russia to wed Peter, only to discover her marriage wasn’t exactly the fairytale love she’d been promised. As Catherine ham-fistedly plots a coup against her spouse with a group of like-minded new friends, their relationship grows increasingly complicated and she begins to question whether she’s ready to become a ruler in her own right.

In Season 2, we’ll see Catherine become empress in her own right, and discover that claiming the throne may have been the easy part of her story. She’ll have to figure out how to rule a country that doesn’t especially like or trust her and isn’t actually that interested in the enlightenment ideals she’s promised to try and bring about.

Plus, Gillian Anderson is a guest star this season – as Catherine’s mother – which is probably reason enough for most of us to tune in right there.

The Great’s ten-episode second season arrives on Hulu on November 19.