Gillian Anderson Joins the Cast of 'The Great' Season 2

Hulu's hilarious, heartfelt period comedy-drama The Great was one of 2020's most unexpected delights, a frothy and wildly entertaining take on the life of a young Catherine the Great that chronicles her rise from outsider to the longest-reigning female ruler in Russia’s history.

Elle Fanning stars as Catherine in this self-styled "occasionally true story" opposite Nicholas Hoult as her husband Peter III. But another famous famous is set to join the cast in the series' upcoming second season, one which will be familiar to Anglophiles everywhere. Gillian Anderson, who won a Golden Globe for her performance as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Season 4 of Netflix's The Crown, will take on the role of Catherine's mother, Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp.

Anderson will appear in two episodes of Season 2, playing the woman sometimes known as the "maestro of marriage" for her skill at arranging high profile partnerships for her daughters. A glamourous socialite from Germany, Joanna will arrive in Russia to check out the rumors of her daughter's coup for herself. And though it's clear she is the apple of Catherine’s eye and a doting mother, it soon becomes clear Johanna has more sinister intentions to save her family’s reputation.