[Robert Urbanek]

While the life and intrigues of Russian empress Catherine the Great could fill six seasons, the 2019 HBO series condensed her rule into four episodes, emphasizing her relationship with the heroic military commander Grigory Potemkin and the expansion of the Russian empire, particularly the annexation of Crimea and the establishment of the port of Sevastopol.

In retrospect. the series seems to validate Putin’s claim that Crimea belongs to Russia.

The sets and costumes are lavish. Some of the quarrels between Catherine and Potemkin seem contrived.

Helen Mirren is convincing as an empowered woman skilled at political machinations. But, as Mirren is a 74-year-old woman playing a 35-year-old empress at the start of the story, the seduction scenes are more cringe-worthy than credible.