Warning: This article contains spoilers for season 1 ofTheGreat.
Tony McNamara, creator of Hulu’sThe Great, knows his show is a bit different.
“So it was a bit likeThe Favourite[which he co-wrote].
Credit: Ollie Upton/Hulu; Inset: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
We never knew when that was made whether the people would like it.
You know?Weliked it.”
Plus, he reveals the show’s original ending, and teases what’s to come in season 2.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The script forThe Greatwas originally for a film.
At what point did you decide to turn it into a series instead?
You’re always complaining that [a movie] is not enough time to tell the story properly.
And you love making TV so much."
So when Nick and Elle came back, I said, “Oh that’s great!
Do you want to do it as TV?”
They hadn’t done TV in a long time.
The show has so many outrageous moments.
Was there any one in particular that was the most difficult for you to conceive, as a writer?
Well, originally it was a play.
I wanted it to be a kind of a mashup of contemporary and formal period sort of language.
So that was probably the thing I experimented a bit with when I was writing the play.
Yeah, mixing up the F-words with the royal talk.
[Laughs] Yeah, the royal talk.
Now, I’m just gonna say that when people ask me.
Let’s talk about Peter.
He’s so awful, but he is also very human, too.
I didn’t want him to be what he looked like.
I wanted him to be more than a sort of buffoon and a tyrant.
To me, he’s not a malicious person, he just doesn’t understand.
So I knew you’d see that on screen just because he brings that.
I knew he’d get away with a lot of bad behavior, and still keep the audience.
So it was sort of a mix of all those things.
All sorts of bonkers things happen on the show.
Was there any line that you wouldn’t cross?
I don’t really have a break, I guess.
If it fits the world and it feels true to the characters, then I’ll do it.
I don’t really have what my wife would call “social laws” or something.
Just like, “Oh, yeah, that seems funny and true.
Let’s do it even if it’s sort of really on the edge.”
I don’t mind.
The Greatfeatures a really great ensemble.
Was there any character that you found harder to tap into than others?
I think when you create them all, they’re not that hard because you created them.
So there wasn’t really anyone I found hard.
The hardest thing is I’ve got a lot of characters.
That’s probably the hardest thing is balancing a cast of 12.
I work really hard at that.
I really want to give them stuff that shows their talent and rewards them for being in my show.
Did you consider ending it a different way?
Yeah, I was going to end it a different way up until about a month before we ended.
I changed my mind about how it should end.
I left the last two episodes really late.
I just was more interested in her story in an emotional sense.
Were you not worried about getting a second season?
[Laughs] I didn’t think about that.
I think I was assuming.
Can you tell me anything about season 2?
It’ll be fun.
I don’t really have anything I can say.
I think it’s the same kind of show, but hopefully surprising in a slightly different way.
Do you know yet if it’ll pick up right where the first season left off?
Ah, I don’t know.
But I don’t think so.
I know the original film script followed Catherine’s whole life, sort of likeThe Crown.
I think we’ll do that for a while.
Plus, I’ve got Nick and Elle.
How could I let that go?
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
