[5] The miniseries depicts Empress Catherine II of Russia's reign, from 1764, two years after taking power, until her death in 1796.
The four-part miniseries premiered in its entirety on Sky Atlantic, On Demand and Now TV in the United Kingdom on 3 October 2019.
[18] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
[20] Variety wrote: "Stepping back from the series' four episodes reveals a disappointing lack of ambition in portraying such a titanic force's final days".
[22] Brian Lowry of CNN wrote "The peccadilloes of royalty never go out of fashion, but Catherine -- with her tumultuous decades-long reign -- brings more intrigue to the party than most".
[24] According to David Fear of the Rolling Stone, "You can feel that [directors] are relying on the mighty Dame Helen to do most of the dramatic heavy lifting here.