Thread by @EW

More sex, more schemes, and new famous faces! @TheGreatHulu stars Elle Fanning and @NicholasHoult raise a glass to the series’ challenging and surprising second season. bit.ly/3osAIvK Story by @_LaurenHuff

#TheGreat is at once blithely anachronistic and stylish, extremely crude, and surprisingly emotionally resonant. It's obscene but enjoyable, and Catherine and Peter’s battle of wills and wits lies at the heart of season 2. bit.ly/3osAIvK

The competitive dynamic exists between the stars both on and off screen. "Catherine and Peter are always trying to one-up each other," Nicholas Hoult explains. "Elle and I have a healthy habit of doing the same to each other as actors.” #TheGreat

Due in part to the pandemic, filming for #TheGreat ballooned from about six months in season 1 to nearly nine months this time around (including a two-week shutdown), and one group of background extras was used for all 10 episodes. bit.ly/3osAIvK

In season 2, additional screening was ordered for anyone filming an intimate scene. For an explicit show like #TheGreat, that meant lots of nasal swabs. "We were like, 'Swab me here, swab me here, swab me there, whatever,'" Elle Fanning jokes. bit.ly/3osAIvK

Each character still has hidden motivations in #TheGreat S2. "I like characters who are coming from a place that's logical for what they want," says producer Tony McNamara. "Don't trust anyone. They're all coming from a good place, but they're all coming from their own place."

Among the bickering, there are genuinely tender moments between Catherine & Peter in #TheGreat S2. "I think you should ship it," says Fanning. "It's also like, at any moment, you don't know if they're going to murder each other. It's like ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ in the 18th century."

Asking if #TheGreat’s Catherine and Peter are bad or good together is perhaps the wrong question, Fanning suggests. "They push each other along. They understand each other. I think that's what it is," she says.

For even more, read our digital cover story: bit.ly/3osAIvK