Helen Mirren Joins HBO and Sky’s ‘Catherine the Great’

Helen Mirren will star in the title role of HBO and Sky’s upcoming miniseries “Catherine the Great.” Mirren will play the 18th century Russian monarch in a four-part project set to start filming later this year.

Written by Nigel Williams (“Elizabeth I,” “Wodehouse in Exile”) and directed by Philip Martin (“The Crown,” “Mo,” “Prime Suspect”), the miniseries looks at Catherine at the end of her reign and her affair with Grigory Potemkin.

“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 endeavour. There are no other homes on television that bring the support and understanding needed for this kind of project.”

Produced by Origin Pictures and New Pictures, “Catherine the Great” will air on HBO in the U.S. and Sky Atlantic in the U.K. and Europe.

“We are jubilant about having Helen Mirren back on HBO, playing the iconic Russian empress and joining this distinguished team of British filmmakers,” Kary Antholis, president, HBO miniseries said. “This collaboration will, no doubt, result in a truly regal mini-series.”

The miniseries is being exec produced by David M. Thompson for Origin Pictures, Charlie Pattinson for New Pictures, Mirren and Martin.

“We’re incredibly excited to announce Catherine the Great and our further association with HBO, in what promises to be a definitive landmark drama,” Cameron Roach, commissioning editor for Sky drama, said. “The team assembled on the project is truly world class and we look forward to Helen Mirren bringing this remarkable woman to life.”