Why was The Great canceled after three seasons?

Hulu has canceled The Great after three seasons. Why would it cancel such a brilliant show? We’re looking at the likely reasons for this.

There are some great shows to watch on broadcast and streaming networks. The Great is one of them.

Over three seasons, we’ve watched a story that’s very loosely based on the life of Catherine the Great. When I say “very loosely based,” I mean this. This is satirical, and the show makes it very clear that it isn’t looking for historical accuracy. It’s looking for storytelling, and that’s what it brings.

However, after three seasons, the series has been canceled. Why would Hulu do this?

Why did Hulu cancel The Great?

Like so many other networks, Hulu hasn’t explained why it’s done this. It wasn’t the show’s choice. This has come directly from the network, and it looks like it’s to do with viewing numbers. While the show had a loyal audience, it may not have been big enough to keep the series going.

It’s also worth noting that Hulu had to make deals with other carriers to get it international. For example, it airs on Prime Video in Canada. The show started before the Hulu-Disney merger, and it wasn’t immediate that Hulu shows would go to Disney+ outside of the U.S.

Then there’s the fact that the show killed off one of the main characters. While the series was loose on historical accuracy, some elements had to remain. One of those was the death of Peter, Catherine’s husband. After all, Catherine grew as a person in real history after the death of her husband. Of course, that had to be written into the show.

When you lose one of the OG characters that has people tuning in, there is a cause for concern. Look at how much the feeling of Reign changed when Toby Regbo’s Francis was killed off to stick to history. The overall feeling of the show changed to the point that it didn’t feel like the series we’d come to love, and that, arguably, led to a decline in the ratings. Hulu may have preempted that and opted to cancel The Great when the ratings may have been lower than hoped for.

The Great is available to stream on Hulu.