Catherine the Great trailer: Helen Mirren plays the uncompromising Russian monarch in HBO limited series

Catherine the Great, a four-part limited HBO series, sees Hellen Mirren as the exacting, uncompromising Russian monarch Catherine, who was one of the most prominent global figures in the latter half of the 18th century. One of the main reasons she is remembered in history is because she came to gain the throne only after organising a secret coup to dethrone her husband, the then-emperor.

Grigory Potemkin, a military leader and a noble, is portrayed by Jason Clarke. Potemkin was rumoured to be romantically involved with Catherine. With Peaches’ ‘Boys Wanna Be Her’ playing the background, the trailer cuts a grim picture. Worthy of mention is a scene between Grigory and Catherine, where the Mirren clearly sends off the chilly signal that she does not wish to share power with him.

Check out the trailer of Catherine the Great

“Some things need to change. I believe in reason. I believe in progress. And when the indomitable Russian people fight for these things, then Russia, your Russia, my Russia, our Russia will be truly and eternally great," says Mirren at a point in the trailer, with a sharp, no-nonsense air to her.

At one point, she even issues cold cautionary advice, “I have survived for half a century in a world that does not want me. It would be a terrible mistake to go against me.”

The series also features Joseph Quinn, Gina McKee, Rory Kinnear, Richard Roxburgh, Kevin R McNally, Sam Palladio, Clive Russell, and Antonia Clarke.

Catherine the Great is scheduled to premiere in the Fall.